


Dance in the Dark

by 5dshadesofgay



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, F/F, F/M, Gender Identity, Gender Issues, Hallucinations, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mental Institutions, Panic Attacks, Past Sexual Abuse, Schizophrenia, Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-16 14:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 64,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2273961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5dshadesofgay/pseuds/5dshadesofgay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baby loves to dance in the dark, 'cause when he's lookin' he falls apart. Baby loves to dance, loves to dance in the dark.<br/>- Roadtrip AU. Kiryu and Yusei take a roadtrip together before going away to college, and Jack tags along for the ride. Yusei struggles with his feelings while Kiryu struggles with his mental illness. Meanwhile Jack struggles with his own demons. They pick up a few hitchhikers along the way, too. This is a story of love, heartbreak, and insanity. </p><p>Beta'd/Edited by Namu</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Affliction

**1:** **Affliction**

  

The sun beat down on the hood of the old Honda Accord. It was a hot, dry day and Kiryu wiped the sweat from his forehead as he lit up a cigarette. He was leaning against the car and watching the door of a small house as if waiting for someone. In fact he _was_ waiting for someone, and that someone grunted as he pushed open the door with his back, dragging along the biggest suitcase Kiryu had ever seen.

 

"We are not fucking taking that," he spat as the suitcase struggled to squeeze through the doorway. The person stopped pulling and frowned, his eyes following the little specks that fell as Kiryu shook out his lit cig.

 

"I can't believe you're smoking again," he sighed before turning back to his problem. "And I need this stuff. Who knows how long we'll be gone, and I'll need clean clothes, blankets, emergency suppl-"

 

"That's not going to fit in your fucking car," Kiryu snorted, taking another puff.

 

"We'll make it fit," his companion assured him. Kiryu shook his head and sighed with annoyance. Shaking the butt off his cigarette, he gave him a hard pressed look.

 

"Yusei, don't forget we're picking up Jack along the way."

 

"Yeah, I know."

 

Kiryu tossed his used-up cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. Unfortunately, Yusei saw and gesticulated dramatically at his foot.

 

"Don't just leave that there!" 

 

"You're kidding me."

 

Yusei pouted. He bent down and picked up the litter himself, returning to his house to dispose of it. When he got back outside, Kiryu was shoving the giant suitcase into his trunk.

 

"Barely fits," he huffed, slamming the trunk shut. "Better hope that snotty rich kid doesn't pack his entire house."

 

Yusei waved goodbye to his worried-looking mother as Kiryu got into the front seat. He started the engine and Yusei took that as his cue to get in or get left behind, knowing how impatient Kiryu could be.

 

"If we make good time, we'll be at Jack's in three days," Kiryu told him as he pulled out of the driveway. "Think you can survive till then?" He laughed, and Yusei chuckled back nervously.

 

"I think the better question is if _you_ can survive till then."

 

"Don't worry, I've got plenty of medication.”

 

"But will you actually take it?"

 

"Yeah, I'll take it, don't worry."

 

 _Worrying about you is pretty much all I do,_ Yusei sighed mentally. Memories of high school flashed by. He met Kiryu when they were freshmen. Yusei skipped two grades in elementary school so he was two years younger, but they had been best friends since that first day. Yusei was new, having moved to that town only that summer. During gym he stood by himself away from the other kids, feeling out of place because of his age as well as being a new student.  Kiryu saw how out of place he seemed, so he walked over and struck up a conversation. Since then, Yusei had followed Kiryu around like a puppy.  

 

"If you start feeling sleepy or groggy just pull over and I'll drive," Yusei offered.

 

"I'll be fineeee," Kiryu assured him. Yusei wasn't so sure. He'd been in the car with Kiryu so many times and he had never been able to make an entire drive by himself. Eventually he’d get too distracted to drive safely and someone else would have to take over. Usually him. But Kiryu liked to drive so he'd let Kiryu drive as much as he was able.

 

Yusei rolled down his window as they sped past empty fields. Kiryu turned the radio on and blasted it as loud as his speakers would go, singing along loudly and obnoxiously. Yusei almost never sang but he hummed along, occasionally glancing at Kiryu to make sure he was focused.

 

It was warm and cozy in the car and Yusei found himself dozing off. He was so relaxed...

 

Until the car came to an abrupt stop, and Yusei yelped as he was thrown forward, his seatbelt locking to keep him from flying through the windshield.

 

"Kiryu!" Yusei gasped, looking around wildly. 

 

"Shit," Kiryu said. "Shit shit _shiiiiiiit._ "

 

"Kiryu, you can't just stop in the middle of a highway!" Yusei snapped as cars began honking. He quickly pressed the button for the hazard lights and they came on. "Why are you just- Kiryu?"

 

Kiryu was staring straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were turning white. His pupils were as round as hubcaps.

 

"Shit, are you hallucinating?" Yusei asked, unbuckling his seat belt.

 

"PUT YOUR SEAT BELT BACK ON!" Kiryu screamed, and Yusei jumped a little. He obeyed, knowing it was better to give in to Kiryu's delusions than to go against them. There was almost no reasoning with Kiryu when he got this way.

 

"What's happening? Is there something on the road?" Yusei asked, trying to figure out how to handle this. 

 

"Oh my god, we're going to die," Kiryu replied in a high voice.

 

"Kiryu, let me drive now, okay?" 

 

"No, don't move!" Kiryu hissed, and there was fear in his voice. 

 

"You have to let me drive now. Please." Yusei was almost begging. If Kiryu decided they could flee whatever it was and started driving, he could get them killed easily. "Please let me drive, Kiryu. Please. _Please._ "

 

After a little more hesitation, Kiryu finally gave in.

 

"Okay," he told Yusei, “but don't get out of the car. We'll have to switch seats by climbing over each other."

 

"Alright, I can do that," Yusei agreed. He unbuckled and crawled into the back. Kiryu unbuckled and, with a deathly horrified glance out the window, he dove into the passenger seat. Yusei climbed into the driver side and buckled up. As he adjusted his seat and mirrors, Kiryu buckled up and put his head between his knees. Yusei heard him let out a small sob.

 

"It's okay, Kiryu.” He wants to pat Kiryu on the back but knew better. "You took your medication today, right?" 

 

"Yes," Kiryu replied, his voice shaky. 

 

"Okay, well, just try to keep calm, okay?" Yusei reassured him. "Don't look, if it helps." Yusei turned the flashers off and put the car into drive. Kiryu let out a shrieking sob of terror and began rocking back and forth in his seat. Yusei cranked up the radio. Usually music helped.

 

It was a half hour before Kiryu uncurled himself. His eyes were red and there were dark circles under them. He leaned against the window of the car, looking extremely tired.

 

"How are you feeling?" Yusei asked, glancing at him. 

 

"Terrible," Kiryu muttered, rubbing his face. "I thought we were gonna die. I thought we were _really_ going to die."

 

"Do you want me to stop somewhere? Want something to eat?"

 

"Yeah…"

 

So Yusei took the next exit and they stopped at a rest stop for sandwiches and coffee. Kiryu was pretty quiet.

 

"So, do you wanna talk about it?" Yusei asked, and Kiryu shook his head.

 

"Okay, you don't have to talk about it." 

 

Kiryu remained silent, but Yusei noticed his eyes darting around, as if he could see something moving that no one else could. Which was most likely the case. 

 

"Yusei, can I see your hand?" Kiryu suddenly asked. 

 

"Uh… sure," Yusei humored him. He held out his hand and Kiryu took it, inspecting every inch. 

 

"You'd tell me if you were an android, right?" he pleaded.

 

"Of course I would," Yusei said. "You're my best friend. I'd never keep anything from you."

 

Kiryu looked extremely relieved and let go of Yusei's hand. Yusei smiled at him.

 

"Come on, we still have a long drive before we get to the first hotel." He stood up and Kiryu followed. 

 

"Thanks for taking care of me. Again." Kiryu draped himself over Yusei's shoulders and nuzzled him.

 

"Hey, it's what I'm here for." Yusei smiled and stroked his hair. Kiryu could be overly affectionate sometimes- not that he minded.

 

"Don't tell Jack," Kiryu told him as he pulled back. "He'll make fun of me."

 

"Jack won't make fun of you. He's concerned about you," Yusei replied. But Kiryu frowned and Yusei knew there was no point reasoning with him.

 

"Okay."

 

Kiryu smiled and skipped to the car. 

 

"Come on~ We're gonna be late!"

 

"Late for what? The hotel?" Yusei laughed as he opened the driver side.

 

"I don't know. Maybe."

 

This bothered Yusei. Kiryu was slipping into a state of distortion, which usually meant he hadn't taken his medication.

 

"Before we get back on the road, where's your medication bottles? I want to see them."

 

"Why?" Kiryu snorted.

 

"To make sure you packed them."

 

"I did pack them."

 

"I want to see them."

 

"You don't believe me?" Kiryu sounded offended, but Yusei wasn't letting him get away with this.

 

"I reassure you of things all the time, whether you believe me or not. So this time, humor _me_.”

 

Kiryu couldn't really argue with that logic. With a pout that temporarily made Yusei forget why he was doing this, Kiryu rolled his eyes and rummaged through a small backpack laying at his feet. He held up several bottles to show Yusei that yes indeed he had medications, but quickly shoved them back in his bag before Yusei could read whose or what they were.

 

"Kiryu." Yusei leaned over and grabbed Kiryu's bag.

 

"Hey!" Kiryu protested, but Yusei fought him and managed to wrestle the bag from his grip. He pawed through it, and what he saw made him frown.

 

"These haven't even been opened!"

 

"Of course not! Did you think I would bring half empty bottles on such a long trip?" Kiryu snapped, trying to snatch the bag back. Yusei held it out of reach.

 

"Don't lie to me. Have you been taking your medication?" Yusei's face was as stern as his voice. Kiryu looked like a trapped animal trying to escape from a predator. 

 

"Yusei, you don't understand! Those pills-!" 

 

 _"So you_ haven't _been taking them, have you?!_ " Yusei accused. "Kiryu, you _know_ how important this is! You agreed to this! _You signed a contract!_ "

 

"I hate it!" Kiryu shouted, still desperately trying to grab his belongings. "I hate it **I hate it _I hate it!_** "

 

"Would you rather go to jail?" Yusei asked coldly, and Kiryu stopped his temper tantrum. "Because that's where you'll be if you stop taking these. That was the agreement."

 

"What? You gonna tell on me?!" Kiryu snorted.

 

"No. Of course not," Yusei sighed. "But if anything happens and you end up getting arrested again, they'll know you didn't take your meds and they don't give second chances. This _is_ your second chance."

 

"I'll risk it."

 

Those were not the words Yusei had wanted to hear.

 

"Kiryu, _please_!"

 

Kiryu shook his head. It was like trying to get a two year old to eat his vegetables, with much worse potential consequences. 

 

"Did you like the little scare you had earlier? Because that's going to keep happening and it'll get worse and worse and you know it. Was that fun for you? Because I'm pretty sure you spent a majority of this ride curled up in a ball crying over something that wasn't actually happening!"

 

"It _was_ happening!" Kiryu whined. "It just wasn't happening to _you_!" 

 

"That's not a valid argument and you know it," Yusei said. "Kiryu, please. Just take your goddamn meds and we can move on with life."

 

Kiryu rocked back and forth, almost like a drug addict going through withdrawal, and then he finally gave in.

 

“…Fine…"

 

Yusei gave a sigh of relief and took out the appropriate pills. Very reluctantly, Kiryu swallowed every pill Yusei handed him and even put up with Yusei checking his mouth to make sure he really was swallowing them.

 

"There. Was that so hard?" Yusei asked him kindly.

 

"I don't like how they make me feel," Kiryu complained, resting his head against the window.

 

"It's better than the alternative. Come on, we'll get going now."

 

Yusei started up the car and they drove on. Kiryu sulked silently as Yusei hummed to the radio. 

 

"Are you mad at me?" Yusei asked after a while.

 

"No," Kiryu sighed. "I just wish you didn't act like Rudger."

 

"I'm just looking out for you, just like he is," Yusei told him.

 

"Sometimes I think Rudger wishes he kept the receipt when he adopted me."

 

"Don't say that! Rudger loves you!"

 

Kiryu didn't answer back. Yusei had a feeling that the meds were starting to kick in. Kiryu did tend to become depressed when he took his meds after not taking them for a while. 

 

"I've only ever caused problems for him. I'm a shitty son."

 

"No, you're not."

 

Yusei reached over and patted Kiryu's shoulder.

 

"You're my best friend, Kiryu, okay? I'll always be here for you. I always have been and I always will be."

 

That made Kiryu smile.

 

"Thanks, Yusei. Thanks for not leaving me like everyone else."

 

"I could never leave you." Yusei's heart thumped and he did his best not to blush. Yes, he could never leave Kiryu. Even though he tried. Even though Kiryu pushed him past breaking point and destroyed him without even realizing it. No, he could never leave Kiryu. It wasn't his fault he was burdened with such an affliction. 

 

The rest of the ride was cheery and upbeat. Kiryu was allowed to drive again after Yusei deemed him safe. Which was a relief because the drive took the entire day, and they still had two more days' worth of driving to get through. Yusei wasn't sure he could handle doing all that driving by himself.

 

"Not this hotel, but the one tomorrow has a pool," Yusei told Kiryu as they pulled up.

 

"Sweeeeeeet! We're going swimming!"

 

"Yes, yes. I know you."

 

Kiryu was animated and cheerful, such a difference from when his medication first kicked in. But Yusei was used to Kiryu's mood changes. He was used to all of Kiryu's craziness.  

 

The two friends dropped their belongings in their room before they headed out to dinner. However, when they opened the door, there was only one bed. Neither of them commented on this fact; they tried to save money any way they could. As it was, when they picked up Jack someone would be sleeping on the floor. Yusei guessed it would probably be him, since he was the youngest and a non-family member. Though technically Kiryu and Jack weren't related by blood. Rudger, who adopted Kiryu, was Jack's father's brother. 

 

"C'mon Yusei, I'm hungry!" Kiryu complained.

 

"Right. What do you wanna eat?"

 

"Hmm. Burgers?"

 

"I'm down with that."

 

Tired of driving, the two teens walked to get their food. 

 

"So that last episode, huh?" Kiryu mused to Yusei, folding his arms behind his back. "He was such an asshole, wasn't he?"

 

"Yeah, I can't believe he did that." Yusei shook his head with disbelief. He was pretty relaxed until Kiryu said, "You _would_ find that funny, Crow." 

 

Yusei made a face. Now he knew for sure Kiryu hadn't been taking his medicine. 

 

"So Crow's here, huh?" Yusei asked coolly. Kiryu nodded and they continued walking in silence. Crow was probably saying nasty things about him to Kiryu, like usual. Yusei didn't like him at all. 

 

"Nah, I'm not gonna do that!" Kiryu laughed, which set Yusei on edge. Crow was telling him to do something bad. Why else would Kiryu say that?

 

"This is why you need to take your medicine. So that this doesn't happen."

 

"Shut up," Kiryu yelled. It didn’t phase Yusei. He knew who was really behind the outburst. He could see it in Kiryu's eyes. Especially when they immediately softened and Kiryu swiped at the air.

 

"Bird brain," Kiryu muttered. "That little shit is laughing and flying away."

 

"At least he's leaving," Yusei told him.

 

"I don't know how you put with me," Kiryu sighed. "I can't even put up with me. You must be an idiot."

 

"I guess I am."

 

Luckily, Kiryu was calm for the rest of the day. Yusei made him take his night meds and he didn't complain. It wasn't until they started getting ready to sleep that Kiryu started acting up.

 

"Crow, stop it!" Kiryu suddenly shouted, swiping at the air with his pillow.

 

"What's he doing now?" Yusei, asked fluffing his own pillow.

 

"He keeps telling me my food had gross things in it!" Kiryu whined.

 

"Just ignore him," Yusei told him, getting into bed. Kiryu grumpily got in next to him and pulled his pillow over his face.

 

"Stoooop!" Kiryu whined, hitting the air again. Just as Yusei closed his eyes, Kiryu jumped out of bed. Yusei sat up in alarm and saw Kiryu rush into the bathroom before he heard a horrible retching sound. 

 

"Fuck," Yusei groaned. This wasn't the first time that goddamn Crow made Kiryu purge himself.

 

"Kiryu…" Yusei sighed, getting out of bed. He entered the bathroom and held back Kiryu's hair. 

 

"Sorry," Kiryu coughed in a hoarse voice.

 

"It's not your fault.” 

 

"Stupid Crow," Kiryu groaned, holding his stomach.  "Shit. My stomach hurts." 

 

"Do you want pepto?" Yusei asked kindly.

 

"No. He'll just make me throw that up too. He says he's going to make me puke out my own stomach." 

 

"That's impossible to do."

 

"He said he'll make it happen anyway."

 

Yusei grimaced as Kiryu ducked down to vomit again.

 

"This is why you need to take your medication. It won't even kick in for a few days since I'm guessing you haven't been taking it for a while. If it even gets digested at this rate. You probably already threw it up.”

 

Kiryu glared up at him.

 

"You're not making this any easier."

 

"Sorry."

 

Yusei stayed by Kiryu's side all night, falling asleep on the floor. Somehow he slept through the rest of Kiryu's retching, and awoke to find Kiryu sleeping with his head on his arms, which were folded on the toilet seat.

 

Yusei's back was stiff and achey from the floor. He got up and stretched, which woke Kiryu, who gave a large groan as he peeled his face off the toilet seat.

 

"Hey. Morning. How you feeling?" Yusei asked.

 

"Terrible," Kiryu croaked, rubbing his face. "I think I threw up my internal organs."

 

"Don't be silly. Well, is Crow leaving you alone now?"

 

"Yeah, he flew off."

 

"Good. Eat something and then take your meds. We've got a long drive."

 

After they ate, they packed up and started the drive west. Yusei took the first shift so Kiryu had time to let his meds settle. He was quiet and Yusei started rethinking this whole trip idea. Could they really survive this? What if Kiryu had a really bad episode and ran off, or hurt someone, or himself, and they couldn’t find a hospital?  What if the hospital didn't treat him right? A million things could go wrong. What had he been thinking?

 

"Hey, Yusei," Kiryu suddenly said.

 

"Hm?"

 

"I'm really glad we're going on this trip."

 

Yusei's heart seemed to leave him. 

 

"Going on a trip like this makes me feel… strangely normal."

 

He grinned as he popped a pretzel bite into his mouth. Yusei felt so light that he practically floated away.

 

"You _are_ normal, Kiryu. You just have a little… problem."

 

Kiryu laughed, and Yusei stole a glance to see a genuine smile on his face. That smile was worth all the trouble they had gone through to get to this point. 

 

Kiryu wasn't his illness. He was a person and he deserved the same treatment as everyone else. 

 

"I'm glad we are too. I just hope you feel the same way when Jack gets here."

 

"Ffff. Jack will probably be the one regretting it."

 

"Aww, don't say that," Yusei told him.

 

"No, I mean like, you know him. You've seen how he lives. He's a little proper prince. Yet he agreed to come with us on this low budget road trip. He must really like us."

 

Yusei pursed his lips. Yes, that _was_ strange. Jack refused to go camping with them last summer and here he was ready to sleep in sketchy motels and eat fast food for several weeks. 

 

"Well, he _did_ just break up with his girlfriend. Maybe he's looking for some tail," Kiryu snorted. Yusei stomped on the brakes and Kiryu jolted forward.

 

"Sorry. I saw something in the road. Must have just been a leaf."

 

Kiryu straightened himself out as Yusei got the car under control. 

 

"Phew, then I wasn't seeing things. Maybe the medicine is kicking in finally."

 

That comment made Yusei frown even deeper.

 

Well, if Jack was coming with them to take advantage of Kiryu he'd have another thing coming! Wait, there was no reason to suspect Jack wanted anything out of the ordinary from his cousin. Well, they _were_ cousins, after all. Yusei was just being overly paranoid. He got a little jealous when it came to Kiryu’s attention. 

 

"Don't worry about it," he said absentmindedly. 

 

"Worry about what?" Kiryu asked.

 

"Hmm? Nothing."

 

Eventually Yusei had to pull over to let Kiryu drive. He knew it was probably a bad idea, but he let himself take a nap. When he woke up the sky was starting to darken and he didn't recognize where they were. 

 

"Kiryu? Where are we?" Yusei yawned.

 

"I have no idea!" Kiryu said with a laugh.

 

"What?!" Yusei was awake now. 

 

"Pull over!" 

 

Kiryu pouted and gave a sad puppy dog look. 

 

"But I'm having fun!" 

 

It was at this point Yusei noticed that they were flying past cars. He dared to look at the speedometer and then regreted all his life choices. The fact that Kiryu was endangering their lives caused his stomach to churn nastily.

 

"Kiryu, pull over. I'm gonna throw up."

 

Kiryu sighed and slowed down the car, putting his turn signal on and pulling over to the shoulder.  Yusei jumped out of the car and ducked into the bushes. Kiryu snorted impatiently. He wanted to get going again. It was an impulse. Go fast! As fast you can! It wasn't so much a voice in his head as it was an itch begging to be scratched. He started getting restless, tapping the steering wheel and twitching his legs, so he turned the car off to stop himself from driving off without Yusei (because as tempted as he was, he would never leave Yusei behind). It seemed like forever until Yusei returned, looking pale and sweaty.

 

"You took forever!" Kiryu complained as Yusei opened the door.

 

"Do not… Do that again…" Yusei replied in a weak voice, slumping in his seat.

 

"What's wrong with you?!" Kiryu huffed.

 

"You know I have a panic problem."

 

“Oh yeah, the throw up thing you do when you get upset or-”

 

"I don't want to talk about it!" Yusei snapped in a high voice. "Just… I just want to get to a hotel. Alive. Safe. Do not go over the speed limit or so help me, Kiryu Kyosuke, I will-!"

 

"Alright, alright, keep your panties on," Kiryu grumbled. He started the car- or at least tried to. But it grumbled and died and Kiryu scowled.

 

"What's the hold up?" Yusei asked weakly.

 

“Well I think… I think we're out of gas?" Kiryu laughed nervously. 

 

"Oh dear God, save us," Yusei moaned, letting his head hit the window in defeat.

 

"What should we do?" Kiryu asked.

 

"What _can_ we do?" Yusei sighed. "We'll have to call Jack."

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Love Like Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Jack to the rescue! But at what cost? Yusei smells something fishy going on... Something that could end the road trip before it begins.

**2: Love Like Winter**

"You two are idiots."

It was ten at night and Jack had just gotten out of his father's black-tinted SUV holding a red gallon gas can.

"Forget the gas," Kiryu moaned in a desperate voice. " _Fooddddd. Waterrrrr. Atmosphereeeee._ "

"Yeah, yeah, I got you guys food." Jack held out a plastic bag that Kiryu snatched from his hand. Yusei grabbed a sandwich before Kiryu could inhale the entire bag.

After five minutes of wolfing down every last edible crumb, Kiryu threw his arms around his cousin and clung to him.

"Jackyyyyy, you're the best~" he sang, and it was just a _little_  too close for Yusei's comfort.

"We should get going if we want to put gas in the car before the gas station closes," Yusei said coolly, picking up the emergency gallon of gas. "Kiryu, can you pop the fuel tank door?"

"Gas stations don't close, crabhead," Jack snorted as Kiryu let go of him to help out.

"Some of them do."

"Really now, what's got your panties all up in a bunch?"

Yusei rolled his eyes at him as he stuck the nozzle of the gas can into the car's tank. Jack leaned on the hood and moaned, "Hnnng, careful Yusei~ It's my first time~" in a girly voice. Kiryu coughed uncomfortably as Yusei threw the gas can cap at Jack.

"Hey, don't bite the hand that feeds you," Jack said wisely, and Yusei narrowed his eyes.

"Are you going to be this much of a dick the entire trip?"

"I won't be a dick if I get some dick."

Yusei slammed the fuel tank door shut and leered at Jack.

"Sorry, we're fresh out," he replied sarcastically.

"Oh really? I don't think you are…" Jack's eyes definitely wandered over to Kiryu. Yusei could practically feel the steam blow out his ears.

"Goodbye, Jack. Come on, Kiryu, we're leaving!" Yusei stormed to the driver side.

"Oh, lighten up, crabhead," Jack snorted, and he opened the back door.

"What are you doing?!" Yusei snapped.

"I'm coming with you."

"What about your dad's fucking SUV?!"

"Oh. Right."

Yusei wanted to scream as Jack chuckled and got back out of the car.

"There's a hotel about 5 blocks down. That's where I'll be staying. There are two beds so I think we can make it work. See you soon, huh?"

He waved them off as he got back into his car.

"I might actually kill that man," Yusei sighed, starting the engine.

"Make sure to take his wallet afterward." Kiryu grinned, but Yusei felt uneasy because sometimes Kiryu really did mean what he said.

* * *

After acquiring the appropriate amount of gas, Yusei headed for the hotel. If it wasn't for the fact that Jack had already paid for the room, he would have insisted he and Kiryu find a different place to crash.

And as they pulled up it was just as Yusei feared:

"He fucking booked a five star hotel."

Yusei's head hit his steering wheel as he let out a frustrated groan.

"Cool!"

"No, not cool!" Yusei snapped, whipping his head back up. "Now the rest of the trip is going to seem severely downgraded based on the ideal of our first night!"

"I have no idea what you just said," Kiryu replied cheerfully, "but if you don't hurry up the pool will be closed!"

"It's almost midnight, Kiryu. I'm sure the pool is already closed."

But Kiryu was already half way out the door. Yusei swore that he'd kill Jack- or at least give him a nice smack- for this.

By the time Yusei caught up with Kiryu in the lobby he was already asking for a Mr. Atlas.

"I'm sorry, but no one under that name is booked here," the attendant apologized.

"Godwin. The last name is Godwin," Yusei sighed. He needed to remember to tell Jack to stop confusing Kiryu by using his middle name as his last.

"Room 221," the attendant bowed, and Yusei grabbed Kiryu's suitcase along with his own.

"C'mon, Kiryu. Let's go kill Jack."

Kiryu bounded happily up the stairs. Yusei opted for the elevator since he was trailing two suitcases. But when he got to the second floor Kiryu was frozen in the hallway, wide-eyed and terrified.

Great, just what they needed. Another Kiryu episode.

"Kiryu… you okay?" Yusei asked cautiously.

"I can't go in there," he cried hysterically. "I can't… I can't go in there!"

"Alright, calm down," Yusei said, setting the suitcases aside. He went to knock on the door but Kiryu grabbed him violently and pulled him back.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" he screamed at Yusei. That was bound to wake up the entire floor.

"What's wrong?" Yusei asked, hoping to quell this new delusion before it could get out of hand.

"You can't go in there!" Kiryu whined.

"Why not?"

"Just don't!"

It seemed Kiryu couldn't say why, which definitely meant it was a delusion.

Suddenly, the doorknob turned and the door opened, causing Kiryu to scream and jump back in fright.

"It's only me," Jack huffed, opening the door wider. "Come on in."

"NO!" Kiryu burst into tears. Down the hall, a head poked out here and there from other rooms, looking to see who was causing all the noise.

"Kiryu, you're just having a delusion. It's not real. Now get in here." Jack treated him like a misbehaving child. This statement only proved to upset Kiryu even more. Yusei put his arms around him and glared at Jack.

"You are a shitty cousin," Yusei snarled.

"We're not really cousins," Jack said, shrugging them off and going back into his room. The desire to nail Jack in the face was starting to overpower him.

"You know what, Jack, we're leaving, and you're not coming on this trip with us. I don't even know why we invited you! C'mon, Kiryu, we'll find a different place to stay!" Yusei was being very gentle with Kiryu, but he was very angry at Jack.

"Oh, come now, don't be like that!" Jack huffed, turning back around to lean in the doorway. "You're such a baby."

"That's completely insensitive to Kiryu!" Yusei snapped.

"You're babying him too much!" Jack snapped back. He strode over and wrestled Kiryu from Yusei's hold. Kiryu squealed and tried to run away but Jack was stronger and pulled him towards the door.

"NO!" Kiryu screamed, as if he was being tortured. He was crying hysterically and hallway doors kept opening to see what was going on.

"JACK, STOP!" Yusei shouted, and he grabbed Kiryu protectively.

"He'll never get over it if he doesn't tackle the problem head on," Jack reasoned with Yusei.

"HE'S SCHIZOPHRENIC, NOT A BRATTY FOUR YEAR OLD!" Yusei yelled in exasperation.

"Yusei, I'm older and he's family, let  _me_  handle this!" Jack snarled viciously, and he pulled Kiryu screaming and clawing into the room.

"What is going on here?" The attendant and security officers were storming up the stairs. "Is someone being attacked?"

"No," Yusei sighed, rubbing his forehead. "My friend has schizophrenia and he's having an episode. And his cousin is doing the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do and is making the situation worse."

"Well, we still need to check out the situation," an officer said. Yusei followed them into the room, hoping that maybe they'd arrest Jack or something. It was then that he noticed Kiryu had stopped screaming.

"See? I told you I could take care of it!" Jack huffed rudely, sneering at Yusei. Kiryu was curled in a ball, shaking and looking horrified.

"You fucking traumatized him, you fucking-!" He couldn't think of a word horrible enough to call Jack so let out a string of curses in his native tongue. Then he gently and carefully put his arms around Kiryu. He felt almost lifeless. Yusei could not believe Jack sometimes. He was so insensitive and knew next to nothing about mental illnesses and how to treat them. While Jack talked to the officers, Yusei went into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with warm water. He gently cleaned Kiryu's face and stroked his hair.

"I won't let Jack do that to you again," he promised softly. To his surprise, Kiryu answered.

"I'm okay. I just want to go to sleep."

Yusei nodded and kissed the top of his head. He helped lay Kiryu down and tucked him in.

"Stay with me, please." It was such a soft whimper that Yusei barely heard it. But he did, and his heart melted, and he got under the covers and pulled Kiryu protectively into his arms.

"You're my best friend, Yusei," Kiryu whispered. "Please don't leave me."

"I won't. I promise." Yusei murmured back. He fought the madness inside him that wanted to just spill the three secret words right then and there, but this was definitely not the right time or place.

* * *

Yusei woke up when Jack reentered the room. He rolled in Yusei and Kiryu's suitcases. Yusei was still furious at him for how he treated Kiryu. He pretended to be asleep, but his ears perked up at the sound of Jack coming closer.

"Hey," Jack said in a low voice, and Yusei felt him shake Kiryu a little. Kiryu moaned and squirmed a bit in Yusei's arms. Yusei couldn't help but smirk. It felt nice.

"What…?" Kiryu muttered.

"I'm sorry about earlier."

Yusei wanted to snort but that would give away his feigned sleep.

"I should have been more sensitive to your illness. You're my cousin and I love you and I'm sorry I get really impatient sometimes."

The smirk left Yusei's face. His heart rate increased and his stomach churned. 'I love you' rang in his ears.

"It's okay. I love you, too," Kiryu whispered back.

Yusei let go of Kiryu and swiftly got up, grabbed a pillow, and slammed the bathroom door behind him. He was already regretting this trip. He wanted to go home and he wanted to punch Jack in the face. He _really_  wanted to punch Jack in the face.

He would go home tomorrow, that was it. He wasn't going to put up with this shit for an entire month. If Jack wanted Kiryu, fine, he could have him. He hoped Kiryu went into psychosis and attacked him. It would serve him right.

Yusei immediately felt bad the second this idea sparked in his mind. He knew he was only thinking that because he was so upset. He grumbled into his pillow. He had just wanted to have some quality time with Kiryu, but of course Jacky-poo had to invite himself on their trip. He thought maybe the trip would be exactly the thing he needed to finally tell Kiryu how he felt.

 _He'll never feel the same,_  he snorted to himself. He was Kiryu's best friend. And that was all.

The bathroom was very nice, considering this was a five star hotel. There was a lounge so Yusei took some towels to use as blankets and curled up on it.

Tomorrow he would go home.

* * *

Yusei was rudely awoken by Kiryu banging on the bathroom door.

"Yusei, wake up! Time to go!"

Yusei groaned and rolled over, which caused him to fall off the lounge chair. Rubbing his head, he sat up and yawned, stretching. Without bothering to put the towels or pillow back, he opened the door.

"Good morning Yusei~ Time to go!" Kiryu said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it is," Yusei agreed. "I'm going home."

"What?"

Kiryu's eyes were suddenly twice his normal size and glossy. Damn that boy for making such a cute, sad puppy dog look.

"I'm going home," Yusei repeated, pushing past Kiryu to get his suitcase.

"Breakfast~!" Jack cheered, shoving some kind of hot egg sandwich in Yusei's face.

Something in Yusei snapped. He grabbed the sandwich and repeatedly hit Jack anywhere he could reach, his fist doing most of the contact.

"Hey!" Jack snarled, but Yusei was in a frenzy.

"YOU THINK  **-WHACK-**  YOU CAN JUST  **-WHACK-**  BUY ME A  **-WHACK-**  SANDWICH AND  **-WHACK-**  ALL WILL BE  **-WHACK-**  FORGIVEN?!" He chucked the sandwich across the room, knocking over a lamp, which shattered. He didn't even care.

"I'm going home. Good. Bye." Yusei grabbed his suitcase and shoved his shoes on, eager to put as much distance between himself and Jack as possible. He didn't even look at Kiryu as he stormed out.

"Jeez, that guy has no sense of humor," Jack muttered, rubbing his head.

"Jack!" Kiryu snapped, an uncommon note of authority in his voice that made Jack pay attention. "You go run down that hall right now and get Yusei back. I don't care if you have to apologize for being born, just make him come back! This was supposed to be a fun trip and we're one day in and you're ruining it! How am I supposed to win his heart if he's not here?!"

Jack actually looked ashamed. That had been the whole point of this trip. Kiryu wanted to tell Yusei how he felt, and Jack was here for support. And what had he done? Had a laugh at the expense of Yusei AND Kiryu.

"Fine," he sighed, and he swept himself out of the room.

Jack finally caught up to Yusei as he slammed the trunk of his car shut.

"Yusei, wait…!"

"I'm not interested," Yusei snapped. "I'm going home."

"You can't go home!" Jack huffed. This only seemed to infuriate Yusei even more.

"Oh yeah? Watch me!" He wrenched open the driver side door and slammed it behind him.

"Yusei, don't make Kiryu pay for what I did." Jack was actually begging, which piqued Yusei's interest. "He was really looking forward to this and I've been a dick since me and you know who broke up. I think I just need to get laid. Seriously, please don't go…!"

Yusei started the engine. Jack jumped onto the hood of Yusei's car. Yusei honked his horn loudly but it didn't even seem to phase Jack. Scowling, he rolled down his window and shouted, "So what do you want me to do about it?! If you're going to be a giant asshole until you get laid, then go prowl for fresh meat somewhere else!"

"It's alright, I'm good now!"

Yusei raised an eyebrow.

"Please, Kiryu was really looking forward to this and I didn't mean fuck things up…" Jack looked sincerely sorry. With a sigh, Yusei turned his car off, took the keys out, and got back out.

"Thank you, Yusei!" Jack hugged him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just stop being such an asshole," Yusei sighed heavily, shoving the blond off him.

* * *

Kiryu was delighted that Yusei had returned. He clung to him like a monkey, and Yusei didn't mind. But as they were leaving, Yusei looked back at the room, and he noticed that the bed that should have been Jack's seemed untouched. This bothered Yusei but he put that in the back of his mind for now.

"Dad got his car last night, so I have to stick with you guys," Jack said as they walked to the car, as though this settled all the matters, past, present, and future. Yusei grumbled under his breath.

"I'll take first driving shift," Jack volunteered, and he dangled Yusei's keys in front of his face. Yusei hadn't even felt himself getting pickpocketed.

"Fine, but Kiryu sits in the back with me!" Yusei demanded.

"But you know I get car sick," Kiryu frowned. Yusei gave him a murderous look before storming into the back seat of his car. He brooded in silence the entire day. And what annoyed him even more was that Jack and Kiryu seemed to be having a good time. They were talking and laughing and telling inside jokes. Yusei was regretting his decision to stay.

It was a long drive and the sun was high in the sky as they pulled into a motel that was only a block away from the beach. They were going to stay here for a few days to enjoy the ocean. Yusei must have fallen asleep because when he woke up Jack and Kiryu were whispering to each other, stopped in the parking lot. Yusei pretended to still be sleeping so he could eavesdrop.

"…you'd have to tell him eventually…"

"…no! He doesn't need to know."

"Kiryu, you're not going to feel good about yourself until you-"

"Why are we even talking about this? Nothing even happened between us yet!"

Yusei's stomach curled. His worst fear seemingly confirmed, he pretended to wake up. The two cousins immediately stopped talking.

"'Morning sleepyhead," Kiryu smiled at him.

"Where are we?" Yusei yawned, pretending nothing was wrong.

"We're at our motel. We should probably bring our stuff up if we want to go swimming," Jack said, taking the keys out of the ignition.

Kiryu and Jack were still being secretive as they dragged their luggage up the motel stairs. Yusei was fuming behind them. He wanted to talk to Kiryu privately and demand to know what was going on between him and Jack.

When they finally got to their room, Kiryu opened the door and Jack hurried inside. And because it was Yusei's lucky day, there was only one bed, and Jack didn't even ask who got it. He just flopped down on it and kicked off his shoes. As soon as Yusei let go of his bag inside the room, Kiryu handed him a twenty.

"Yusei, go down to the convenience store, please. Buy whatever you want, but I need to talk to Jack in private."

Yusei's mouth was agape. He snatched the bill from Kiryu's hand.

"Are you going to have sex with him?!" he demanded, his voice cracking from becoming upset. Kiryu looked vaguely shocked at the question and his cheeks turned rosy.

"Yusei, that's none of your business!" Kiryu snapped. "Now  _go_!" He pushed Yusei out the door.

"See? He can practically smell it anyway. You might as well just tell him," Yusei heard Jack say. Tears brimmed in Yusei's eyes. He stormed down the steps and ran. He didn't know where he was running to, just that he needed to get away.

* * *

"He better not have heard that," Kiryu hissed to the blond who was lazing on the bed. "I'm pretty sure Yusei thinks there's something going on between us!"

"So? Let him think that. If he likes you then he'll get jealous. Then you'll know if you're wasting your time doing this or not."

Kiryu folded his arms.

"That's not how I wanna find out," he huffed.

"Well, eventually you're going to have to tell him about the time we, you know-" Jack made a swirling motion with his hand and Kiryu looked away with scarlet cheeks.

"That happened before he moved here. I thought we agreed to never speak of it!"

"You have to tell him. It's not right to keep a secret like that."

"You never tell  _your_  boyfriends!" Kiryu snapped viciously.

"That's because it wasn't my first time."

That shut Kiryu up. He rubbed his forehead.

"That shouldn't even count. I was delusional."

"No, you weren't! You were in love with me!"

Kiryu smacked him with a pillow and hissed, " _Thank you could you have said it any louder I don't think our fathers at home heard you clear enough!"_

"Alright, sorry! I didn't mean to yell it. But you weren't delusional. You were in love with me for weeks."

"That  _was_  the delusion!"

Jack wore a pout.

"So are you telling me that meant nothing to you?"

"I- What did it mean to  _you?!_ " Kiryu demanded quickly.

"I had a special bonding experience with my adopted cousin. I made you a man."

"This is so fucked up," Kiryu groaned, flopping down on the bed. "Maybe you shouldn't have come with us."

"I'm the protector, okay? I protect you and Yusei from others, and from yourselves. Besides, I want to see you two together."

"Well, you're doing a shitastic job," Kiryu snorted sarcastically.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, a girl with red hair and brown eyes answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Aki."

"Oh, Yusei!"

She smiled. It'd been a long time since she heard that voice. He didn't sound too good, though.

"Is everything okay?"

"Not really. I just finished throwing up an entire day's worth of meals."

She frowned into her phone.

"Did something happen with Kiryu?"

She knew Yusei got sick to his stomach when he was upset, and usually it was over Kiryu. She and Yusei had been best friends before he moved away, and he told her pretty much everything. She was the first one Yusei went to when he discovered he wanted more than just friendship from his new best friend.

"I think he and Jack are fucking."

Aki choked on her tea.

"W-What?! I thought they were related!"

"Not by blood…"

Yusei told her everything that had happened and she listened sympathetically.

"I think I want to go home," he ended his story with, sniffling. Aki pursed her lips.

"If they wanted to be alone together, then why would they take you along? Something is up about the reason for this trip, I think," she finally replied. Before Yusei could respond, someone in the background on Aki's end sang her name.

"Shit, Divine's home. I gotta go, Yusei!" With a click, she hung up.

Yusei sighed. Why was Aki still with that guy? He was creepy and controlling and downright abusive. But Aki claimed they were in love so… nothing Yusei said had worked to change her mind yet.

Yusei hung up the phone and laid back on the bench. He wasn't sure where to go from here.

He thought he only shut his eyes for a few seconds but suddenly he was being shaken awake.

"Hey, Yusei. Can we talk?"

Kiryu was standing over him. Somehow he had found him.

"Where's Jack?" Yusei mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Beach. Already prowling for tail."

Yusei glowered at him.

"What, you weren't enough for him?"

"There's nothing between Jack and me," Kiryu said factually. "He's my cousin. He's like a brother to me."

Yusei sat up.

"Even so, you two are being too close. I thought this trip was for us," Yusei complained sulkily.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel left out."

Yusei pursed his lips distrustfully.

"Fine. I guess I forgive you," he muttered. Kiryu gave him a one arm hug.

"C'mon, let's go swimming!" Kiryu clapped his hands together and rubbed them deviously.

"Alright, alright." Yusei smiled as he got up.

"Hey, Kiryu, did you take your meds today?"

"Hm? Yeah, of course!" Kiryu assured him.

"Okay, just making sure," Yusei nodded.

"Liar~" Crow sang in Kiryu's ear. "You are a liar. You lied to Yusei. He's going to be mad. You're a filthy, dirty, disgusting whore."

Kiryu walked faster, but Crow turned into his bird form and flapped around his head.

"He's going to see right through you, that you slept with Jack. Doesn't matter how long ago it was. You're tainted. You're dirty. You're poisonous."

Crow continued to berate him even when they were back in the motel.

"I'm just gonna put my suit on," Kiryu assured Yusei as he slipped into the bathroom. He opened his bag and took out his medications. Crow hissed.

"Now I'm not a liar," Kiryu whispered as he swallowed his pills. By the time they were actually ready to get in the water, Crow would be gone.


	3. Endlessly, He Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusei teaches Jack how to treat someone with a mental illness. Meanwhile Kiryu's delusions keep getting stranger and stranger, causing both Jack and Yusei to reevaluate their outlook on Kiryu's future.

**3: Endlessly, He Said**

 

Kiryu shook the sand from his hair.

"Kiryu! You got sand on the floor!" Yusei pouted.

"So? It's the floor."

"I don't want to be stepping on any after I'm nice and clean."

"Lighten up, crabhead," Jack replied, also shaking the sand from his head. It had been hiding in his blond hair. Yusei's OCD was going nuts. He left the room, and Jack figured he was just having some kind of tantrum. But then a minute later Yusei reappeared with a small vacuum in his hand.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Jack snorted.

"It's my emergency vacuum," Yusei said as he plugged it in.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jack snorted again. "You're the one who wanted to book us at the cheapest motels and here you are fucking vacuuming the floor!"

"Low budget, not unsanitary," Yusei replied.

"Hey Kiryu, whatcha looking at?" Jack suddenly asked. Yusei looked up to see Kiryu gazing intently outside.

"They're watching us," Kiryu said blatantly. Yusei got up and looked out the window where Kiryu was staring. He didn't see anything unusual.

"Well, don't look at them and they'll probably go away," Yusei reasoned with him. Jack resisted the temptation to be an asshole and didn't say anything. But when Yusei went back to vacuuming and Kiryu kept looking outside, Jack drew the curtains closed.

"There. Now they can't see," he said, deciding to go along with his cousin's delusion. Yusei had been right, after all. He had to be more sensitive.

"Okay," Kiryu huffed, and he got back on his bed. A minute later, though, he sprang up and peeked behind the curtain.

"Kiryu," Jack said warningly, and Kiryu snapped the curtains shut.

"Just checking," Kiryu assured him, getting back on his bed. But Jack noticed him glancing at the window frequently.

"There's no one out there!" Jack snapped, and Kiryu jumped in fright.

"Jack!" Yusei snarled, and Jack sighed.

"Sorry, it's just really annoying!"

"It's not my fault!" Kiryu pouted. "They're out there watching us! I know it! I just KNOW it!" He jumped up again and whipped open the curtains, glaring outside.

"I need some fresh air," Jack groaned, and he put on his shoes and whisked himself out.

"Kiryu, stay here," Yusei ordered as he followed Jack. He'd have to be quick because it was bad to leave Kiryu alone for too long.

"Jack, what the hell."

Jack grunted at him.

"I just can't take dealing with him for such an extended time," he complained. "He's wearing me out."

"He's your cousin and he has a mental illness. He's not a tamagotchi that you can just pause when you don't feel like playing with it. You came on this trip with us so you're going to have to learn to deal with it."

"Tama… who even still plays with those?" Jack snorted.

"That's not the point. The point is-"

_*CRASH*_

Yusei instinctively ran back in.

"It's okay!" Kiryu assured him, fixing a lamp. "I knocked over a lamp when I was running but it's fine."

"Kiryu, you're bleeding," Yusei pointed out.

"Where?"

"Here."

Jack had come back in, and he wiped the blood from Kiryu's chin.

"Ow!"

"Sorry. I'll get you a bandaid."

Yusei smiled. Perhaps Jack was finally getting it. Yusei sat down, and for the first time all week (or in a long, long time), he relaxed. Actually relaxed. Let out a deep sigh and calmed himself.

Until there was a scream and the sound of things being thrown was heard. Yusei jumped up and rushed into the bathroom, where Jack was supposed to be cleaning Kiryu up. Kiryu was throwing anything he could reach at Jack, who was shielding his face.

"Yusei, help!" Jack pleaded. "I don't know what I did!"

"Kiryu! KIRYU! Calm down!" Yusei urged, trying to get between them and push Kiryu back.

"He's with them, Yusei! He's fucking with them! TRAITOR!" Kiryu screamed.

"I'm not with them!" Jack assured him, "I'm with you!"

"Why do you think Jack is with them?" Yusei asked.

"Look at the bandaid he tried to give me!" Kiryu spat angrily. Yusei looked and Jack held it out to him, looking scared and confused. It was an H-shaped bandaid. Kiryu had never freaked out over them before.

"What's wrong with the bandaid?" Yusei asked him calmly.

"It's an H!" he snarled. "It's how they track me! No wonder they're snooping around!"

"I swear I didn't know!" Jack pleaded to him. Yusei was glad that he was catching on quickly how to deal with Kiryu's episodes.

"If you're really not with them then flush them, all of them! Right now!" Kiryu demanded.

"What? That's such a waste," Jack complained.

"Do it, Jack," Yusei agreed, and Jack sighed. Then he picked out all the H-shaped bandaids from the mix pack and flushed them down the toilet while Kiryu watched and Yusei attended to his wounds. Kiryu seemed much happier afterwards and announced that "they" had left, following the signals of the flushed bandaids now zipping through the pipes deep underground.

When Kiryu was in the other room, Jack turned to Yusei.

"Alright. If I'm gonna do this properly, I want to know as much as you can tell me."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me his triggers, his ticks, what sets him off, so I can avoid them."

"To tell you the truth, that bandaid one is a new one," Yusei admitted.

"Okay. So then, who does Kiryu think is after him?"

"He's never really said, but from what I can gather I'm pretty sure they're some alien species that take over humans like a parasite."

"Ew."

"Hey, guys~" Kiryu whined from the other room. "I'm hungryyyy. Let's get dinner."

"Alright," Yusei agreed. "Don't forget your medication!"

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

Yusei could swear he had seen Kiryu taking his medication daily, but he was still acting distracted all the time. He was starting to fear that Kiryu might need an increase, or a new medication. As they were hundreds of miles away from Kiryu's psychiatrist, that was pretty impossible at the moment. Yusei was going to make sure he kept Kiryu's stress level down as much as possible, which would be easier now that Jack was cooperating.

After dinner Kiryu expressed a desire to walk on the boardwalk so they took a stroll. Yusei could have been imagining it, but Jack seemed to purposely fall behind them, as if giving them privacy.

"I'm still not really sure what career I want to pursue," Kiryu sighed, stretching and looking to Yusei for a suggestion.

"Well, what is it you like to do?" Yusei asked him. Kiryu took a moment to answer.

"I suppose… I like to cook." Even in the poor lighting Yusei could tell Kiryu's face was red. "You don't think that's too girly, do you?"

"No," Yusei assured him at the same exact time Jack said, "Yeah." Yusei turned to glare at him.

"You're one to talk, Mr. Takes-me-an-hour-to-do-my-hair-before-I-go-anywhere!" Yusei snapped.

"Hey, did I say it was a bad thing?" Jack replied stiffly.

"I'm not a girl." Kiryu was actually pouting.

"No one thinks you're a girl," Yusei assured him.

"You're pretty enough to be one," Jack teased. Yusei smacked him. However, the damage was done.

"Oh my god, it's my hair, isn't it?!" Kiryu balled his fists into his hair and began yanking.

"Kiryu, stop!" Yusei ordered, grabbing Kiryu's wrists, "Let go of your hair!"

"No!" Kiryu screamed, and people turned their heads to look at them.

"Jack, remember when you asked about Kiryu's ticks?" Yusei snarled at him."Well, that's one of them!"

"I'm sorry!" Jack apologized quickly. "Kiryu, please, I was joking. I'm the girly one. You look fine!"

It took five minutes of awkward wrestling to get Kiryu's hands away from his head. He had pulled out a considerable amount of hair, but not enough for it to be noticeable. To keep Kiryu from pulling out the rest of his hair, they walked hand in hand, Yusei with Kiryu's right hand and Jack with Kiryu's left. Kiryu was in a pretty sour mood after that so they decided to just go back to the hotel.

"You know, this is why I asked you to tell me what bothers him!" Jack snapped in the elevator.

"It would take forever to tell you every single little thing that sets Kiryu off," Yusei snorted.

"I'm standing right here, you know," Kiryu said coolly. Jack and Yusei went quiet.

"You know what? I just want to go to bed." Kiryu ripped his hands from the two boys and crossed his arms.

"Kiryu…"

"I don't want to hear it."

Yusei's stomach felt low. Now they had really upset him. The best thing to do really was to get him to go to sleep.

* * *

 

Yusei didn't know what time it was but he knew it was very late when he woke up. At first he thought he simply happened to wake up but then he heard a door close. Jack snored on.

Yusei got out of bed and slipped on his sandals, quietly following behind his frosty-haired friend who had just snuck out. This was one of the ramifications of living with Kiryu; you had to be sensitive to every movement, because he could just up and leave as suddenly and quietly as a ghost.

Luckily Kiryu didn't go far. He walked to the stairs and then stared up at sky. Yusei wasn't sure if he should intervene yet or not. Sometimes when Kiryu was fixated on something he could become violent if anything interrupted him. But then he sat down and began rubbing his stomach. He seemed to be muttering something incomprehensible to it. Yusei decided it was safe to reveal himself.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, walking over to Kiryu. Kiryu gasped and clutched his stomach, his face turning pink.

"Y-Yusei! H-How much did you see?" he asked in a very anxious tone.

"I saw you walk over here and sit down," Yusei replied, sitting next to him. Kiryu shied away, still holding his stomach.

"You're not supposed to know about this," Kiryu whispered. Yusei didn't know what he meant by that.

"I don't know anything," he shrugged, but Kiryu still looked upset. He stood up, still holding his stomach.

"Please don't follow me!" he declared, and he ran down the stairs and shot towards the beach, still holding his stomach as though afraid it might fall out.

Goddamn it, Kiryu, Yusei sighed mentally as he chased after him. His feet sunk in the sand as the terrain changed. Kiryu dived under a dock and disappeared. When Yusei caught up, he found Kiryu hunched over desperately digging a ditch with his bare hands. He looked very scared.

"Yusei, please!" Kiryu begged as he dug. "I don't want you to see this!"

"What are you going to do?" Yusei asked, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice. Was he trying to bury himself alive or something? But then suddenly Kiryu doubled over and moaned in pain, letting out a few small sobs.

"I can't… I can't…!" he sobbed, and he writhed on the ground clutching his stomach.

"Kiryu, what's wrong?!" Yusei asked more urgently, but Kiryu shook his head.

"Y-You need to dig me a hole…!" he sobbed. "Please… I can't do it… It's coming…!"

Yusei was very confused but he knew he had to play along with Kiryu's delusions if he wanted the both of them to come out of this in one piece.

"Alright, I'll dig you a hole," Yusei promised, and he got on his knees and started pawing the ground, like a dog burying a bone. Kiryu moaned and sobbed and rocked back and forth, holding his stomach. Every so often he would cry out or moan something like "Hurry…!" or "It's coming…!"

"How big do you want this hole?" Yusei asked. He was starting to get tired.

"I need to squat in it," Kiryu sniffed. Yusei was suspicious now.

"What, are you going to like, go to the bathroom in it?" Yusei asked, wrinkling his nose. "You know we have a working toilet back at the-"

"NO!" Kiryu screamed, shutting Yusei up. He seemed to really be in agony now. "Yusei, I… I didn't want you to know…!" He was really crying now, his face bright red, mortified by this entire predicament.

"What is it, Kiryu?" Yusei asked once again. "You can trust me, okay? I want to help you."

Kiryu took some breaths to calm down.

"You… You won't look at me differently?" he squeaked, and Yusei could tell he was really scared of what Yusei would think.

"I won't look at you differently," Yusei promised.

Kiryu took a few steadying breaths and then said in a soft voice, "I'm… laying eggs."

It was so bizarre, even for Kiryu, that Yusei just looked at him.

"I thought we were mammals," was all he could get himself to say. Kiryu moaned and sobbed, clutching his stomach.

"Crow fertilized his eggs in me when I was sleeping and now they're coming out. It hurts so much, Yusei. I don't want you to see…" He sobbed even more. This was one of the most bizarre things Kiryu had ever hallucinated. Rather than fight with him and try to make him see reason with logic, which Yusei knew would never work anyway, he continued digging the hole. It took a while and Yusei was sweating like crazy but he finally got it to a size that would be comfortable for Kiryu to squat in.

"Is this okay?" Yusei asked, and Kiryu crawled into it.

"Yes, perfect," Kiryu breathed a sigh of relief. "Please don't look."

"Okay, hold on a moment," Yusei demanded quickly. "All lower articles of clothes need to be removed. I don't want you getting your clothes… messy." Yusei had a feeling that Kiryu would be doing something else instead of laying an egg. "Don't worry, I won't look." He turned away, his cheeks glowing slightly.

"Okay," Kiryu agreed, and Yusei heard him removing his pants. Yusei wondered how long this would take. It would be a pain in the ass (no pun intended) to have to explain to police officers why his friend was squatting half naked in a hole under the dock on the beach at five in the morning.

Kiryu began panting, and Yusei really didn't want to be hearing this. But before he could make up his mind about giving Kiryu more privacy or not, Kiryu reached out a hand.

"W-Will you h-hold my h-hand?" he sobbed, and Yusei's heart completely melted.

"Of course," Yusei replied softly, and without looking he took Kiryu's trembling hand. He would stick by Kiryu through anything. He had made that promise that day all those years ago in the hospital when Kiryu was snarling in a straitjacket and a doctor was telling him the diagnosis. No matter how scary things got, or weird, or embarrassing, or life-threatening, he'd stay with Kiryu, holding his hand until the end.

* * *

The sun was beginning to rise when Yusei came to. He must have dozed off, which was never a good thing to do when Kiryu was in the middle of an episode. He looked around and found Kiryu sitting against a dock pole (pants on, thank goodness), and cradling something invisible in his arms. He was talking to himself, but he seemed happy- joyful, even. Yusei noticed the hole had been filled in.

"Hey…" Yusei yawned as he slunked over. Kiryu shushed him.

"They're sleeping," he whispered, giggling and looking down fondly at his invisible egg children.

"Sorry," Yusei whispered, and he situated himself next to him. He rested his head on Kiryu's shoulder.

"Aren't they cute?" Kiryu cooed, and Yusei almost laughed but he caught himself.

"Adorable," Yusei mumbled back sleepily.

"Crow said he'd pick them up soon so I can go get some sleep. That's nice of him, don't you think?"

"Well, they ARE half his responsibility," Yusei told him. "After all, he fertilized you without your permission."

"Mmn."

* * *

When Yusei and Kiryu returned to the motel, Jack was up.

"Hey, where were you guys?" he demanded. "I was worried."

"I had birdlings," Kiryu yawned, climbing into bed. "I'm so tired."

"Birdlings? What?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Boy, do I have a story for you," Yusei snorted as he got himself bread to toast.

* * *

Kiryu decided to sit in the back of the car so he could sleep. He had the whole back seat to himself. Yusei sat up front with Jack, who drove.

After Jack was sure Kiryu was asleep, he said, "Hey, Yusei?"

"What?" Yusei yawned.

"Do you think…. Kiryu should go to college?"

Yusei almost choked on the coffee he had been drinking.

"W-What?" he gasped, coughing and clearing his throat.

"I don't think he's well enough to be on his own," Jack told him. "I don't think he'll be able to go to school. How will he get anything done?"

"So what's he supposed to do with his life?!" Yusei hissed, angry that Jack would even suggest such a thing.

"I don't know. But I don't think college is for him."

"I will not let him end up in an institution for the rest of his life!" Yusei snarled. He was infuriated to see Jack grin at him.

"You think I'm joking?!" He growled.

"No," Jack replied,"but I do think I hear wedding bells."

"What?"

"Yusei and Kiryu sitting in a tree, f-u-c-k-i-n-!"

Yusei shushed him loudly, looking back at the sleeping Kiryu as though he was a bomb about to explode.

"Ohoho~!" Jack grinned even wider. "You like him!"

Yusei smacked his arm very hard.

"If you don't shut up I swear I will cut all of your hair off in your sleep!" Yusei spat, which only made Jack chuckle deviously.

"I will murder you," Yusei hissed.

"So you do like him!" Jack's grin should have been illegal.

"I'm not saying anything else!" Yusei snapped, and he turned from Jack and refused to speak to him. He really wanted to ask if Kiryu liked him too, but that would probably give it away. Jack could potentially ruin everything.

"I'll just say this," Jack added slyly. "I know he's got his eye on someone, but he won't say who."

Yusei's stomach turned to ice. Worse than ice.

"Jack, pull over," he managed to say, and Jack looked at him quickly, eyebrows raised.

"Why?"

"NOW!"

That shout roused Kiryu from his sleep.

"Hey, why are we stopping?" he asked, noticing the car pull over. For an answer, Yusei threw open the door and projectile vomited onto the grass.

"Ugh. Gross," Kiryu complained as Yusei coughed and wiped his mouth.

"You can thank Jack for that one," Yusei snarled, slamming the door shut.

"What did I do?!" Jack demanded.

"Nevermind! Just get going again!" Yusei snapped impatiently.

"Well, are you going to get sick again?"

"If I do, I'll make sure to do it on you!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Kiryu asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep." Yusei snarled, folding his arms and leaning on the passenger side door, fixedly staring out the window. Kiryu looked at Jack but Jack just shrugged and got the car going again.

"Yusei's on his man-period or something."

"Shut up," Yusei growled.

Kiryu laid back down and shut his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. But a few minutes later he heard a sniff and looked up. He could see Yusei's shoulders trembling slightly as he gave another sniff. Kiryu sat up with alarm, but saw Jack looking at him via the rearview mirror. He shook his head solemnly. A pain entered Kiryu's heart that he couldn't explain. It just… hurt. It hurt that Yusei was hurting. And he had no idea why. Where had this come from? What had he missed while he was asleep? He wanted to comfort Yusei but Jack was telling him not to. Or at least, he saw Jack shaking his head. But he wasn't actually shaking his head. Kiryu did not know this, though, and laid back down, feeling gloomy.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Eventually Jack turned on the radio and Kiryu sat up, watching scenes rush past him through the window. Yusei remained bunched up in his little corner and Kiryu didn't know what to do. When they finally got to their hotel, Yusei was the first out of the car. He didn't even bother grabbing his bag. He just stormed into the motel lobby.

"I'll talk to him," Jack sighed, shutting his door.

"I'll… get his bag…" Kiryu replied gloomily. Jack hurried into the building after Yusei, who was approaching the front counter. Jack grabbed his shoulder and pulled him aside.

"Fucking talk to me!" Jack demanded.

"I have nothing to say to you!" Yusei hissed, his voice cracking severely.

"What the hell was that in the car, huh?"

"It's none of your business!" Yusei snapped.

"Why won't you admit that you like him?" Jack jabbed at him.

"I don't!" Yusei shouted through clenched teeth.

"Right. So that's why you threw up and then cried the whole rest of the car ride," Jack snorted mirthlessly.

"It would never work anyway. We're both too mentally unstable," Yusei said, his voice suddenly solemn. Jack opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Kiryu entered the building with his bag and Yusei's.

"I have your bag, Yusei," Kiryu said apprehensively.

"Thanks," Yusei grumbled, snatching the bag from him. "Let's go to our room." As Yusei left, Kiryu looked at Jack for an explanation.

"I think I might have just fucked up your potential relationship with Yusei?" Jack told him, ending with an air of question and apology.

"What?!" Kiryu snarled, practically breathing fire. "Jack Atlas, what did you do?!"

"Come on!" Yusei popped his head back in to yell at them.

"We'll talk about it later," Jack replied hurriedly, running to the desk to check in and grab the room key.

* * *

Yusei couldn't sleep. He had insisted he sleep in a corner on the floor and had spent the night brooding in his own misery.

Too mentally unstable…. what had he been thinking, telling Jack something like that? There was no one better qualified for Kiryu than he was!

But… what if he was the one who needed a sane arm to lean on? Yusei had his moments too. He had a terrible panic disorder and often worked himself up into a frenzy, like he was now. He needed someone to hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay and that they were safe. He wasn't sure Kiryu could be that person. Last night he had been convinced that he was laying eggs.

No…. two mentally challenged people a functional relationship did not make. Yusei needed someone calm and levelheaded and logical and sweet…

That's what he needed. But he wanted Kiryu.


	4. Radioactive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A careless mistake accidentally leads a blue haired stranger into their lives. Kiryu finally reaches the breaking point.

**4: Radioactive**

 

"Okay, who is the genius that left a fucking light on in the car?!" Yusei snarled the next morning as the three boys discovered their car battery dead. Yusei glared at Jack but Kiryu put his hand up sheepishly.

"S-Sorry…" he apologized quickly. "I must have forgot… when I went to get your bag…"

Yusei exhaled his anger.

"It's alright," he said calmly, "we'll just… call someone. Or ask someone to jump us. We'll figure it out." He walked around to the front of the car and popped the hood up. Less than five minutes into his engine inspection, a white pickup truck pulled up.

"Hey, I don't mean to butt in," the man driving it said nervously, "but uh… d-do you need help with your car?"

"Yes, thank you!" Yusei clapped his hands together in delight, his smile radiant. Kiryu took one look at the beam on Yusei's face and then at the way the stranger was eyeing him and immediately hated this guy.

"I have just the thing!" this new mysterious car hero exclaimed, jumping out of his truck and dashing to the storage in the back. Yusei slunk up to him curiously but in no time at all he had pulled out a heap of thick cables.

"Jumpers," he nodded knowingly. "I'll attach these to my engine and jumpstart yours."

Kiryu glared at the two mechanic nerds as they happily pranced about doing their job to fix the automobile. There was something he really didn't like about this guy. There was a weird shadow creeping from him, trying to reach Yusei. The shadow swirled and hissed and then lashed out!

"YUSEI!"

Kiryu grabbed the hood of Yusei's jacket and yanked him back, away from the hissing shadow. The cables went flying and Yusei stumbled, trying his best not to fall flat on his ass.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Yusei snarled so surprisingly viciously that Kiryu suddenly lost his courage. He'd made a slip-up, hadn't he?

"But… the shadows…" Kiryu said quietly. The blue-haired man raised an eyebrow at him. The judgment he received in that look was so heavy  _he_  almost stumbled backwards.

"Don't mind him. He's schizophrenic," Yusei dismissed him, and Kiryu felt as though he'd been stabbed in the heart. Yusei never,  _ever_  treated him as though he had something wrong with him. It was always, 'Don't worry, Kiryu, it's okay, it happens,' not 'don't take him seriously, he's messed up in the head.'

Something inside Kiryu shut down. He went on auto-pilot. He knew this was the beginning of a delusional episode, but he was powerless to stop it. He'd just have to hold on for dear life and hope he didn't get kicked out of the ring.

This was it.

The apocalypse.

These weren't normal shadows. They were radioactive waves. They had blown out the engine of their car, and if he wasn't careful, Kiryu knew it would make his own systems blow. Where was the sun? The sky was murky and polluted. He couldn't step on the shadows.  _Have to stay on the light…_

"Hey, Kiryu… you okay?" Jack asked hesitantly. After Yusei's little explanation Kiryu had just gone quiet, but his eyes were round and alert and darting in random directions, as if he was following some kind of drunk housefly. Jack wondered if he should slap him or shake him or something. He'd never seen Kiryu like this before. Actually, that wasn't true. He sort of acted like this the day that… "that" happened. The thing they had both promised to never talk about again.

So naturally, Jack was getting concerned.

"Yusei, I think there's something wrong with Kiryu," Jack called, but Yusei was too busy talking excitedly to the blue-haired guy.

"I can feel it in my bones…!" Kiryu gasped, and he started clawing his arm as if he could dig whatever it was out of him.

"Hey, stop that! You'll hurt yourself!" Jack insisted, and without really thinking he grabbed Kiryu's wrist.

Big mistake.

"I'M RADIOACTIVE!" Kiryu shouted with delight, and he threw Jack off him with such ease it was almost inhuman. Jack hit someone's car, and the alarm went off. That at least got Yusei's attention. He whipped his head around in time to see Kiryu climb up onto a car roof.

"KIRYU, GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Yusei shouted, running over and forgetting all about the jumper cables.

"WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE!" Kiryu shouted. He jumped.

If Yusei had not run over and been able to break Kiryu's fall, Kiryu could have cracked his skull open. As it was, Yusei felt like HIS head was cracked open. He couldn't move, and not just because Kiryu was heavy.

"Yusei's system was the first to blow," Kiryu said, standing up.

"Oh my god!" The car hero rushed over looking very scared. "His head is bleeding! Should we call an ambulance?!"

"Yeah, can you do that, Bluey?" Jack grunted as he grabbed Kiryu, who was trying to climb back up the car. "I think I have to bring this guy to a different hospital. Do you know where's there's a psych ward around here?"

"No, I'm not from around here," anxiety man said. "Should I try to stop the bleeding or…?"

"Don't touch him. He needs a paramedic- KIRYU, CALM DOWN!"

Kiryu had utterly lost it. He was struggling so hard in Jack's grip that he accidentally hit Jack in the face. He could feel hot blood flowing out but he couldn't let go of Kiryu.

"Sorry to ask this, but can I borrow your truck since our car is dead?" Jack asked, sounding as though he had contracted a very bad cold in the past ten seconds. "I'll pay any damages. I just. NEED. TO. GET. HIM. SOMEWHERE." Kiryu's struggles were becoming more violent.

"YOU CAN'T CONTROL ME!" he screamed. "I'M NOT LIKE YOU! I'M RADIOACTIVE! I AM A GOD!"

"S-Sure! Just take it. Please just… be careful?" He wasn't really sure what to say. But he couldn't focus on that now. He had to call an ambulance.

"Kiryu, we're going for a ride," Jack grunted as he shoved Kiryu into the passenger side of the truck. Kiryu glared at him from the other side of the window. There was something… wrong in his eyes. He'd never seen Kiryu with eyes like that before.

This wasn't Kiryu.

Jack sprinted to the driver's side, silently praying that Kiryu wouldn't just open the door and run off. But Kiryu stayed in his seat, continuing to glare at Jack.

"Where are you talking me?" Kiryu demanded. Jack didn't know what he should say. This was where Yusei really would have come in handy. Did he tell Kiryu he was taking him to the hospital or did he lie?

"Where do you want to go?" Jack found himself asking.

"I want to go home!" Kiryu snapped, folding his arms.

"Fine, then that's where we're going." Jack put the truck into gear.

"You're a stupid dumbfuck," Kiryu snarled, "How the hell are we going to get home in this giant metal contraption? We need a transport line."

"A what now?" Jack asked absentmindedly as he drove, searching for any signs that could point him to a mental hospital. He could only drive with one hand. The other was pinching his nose shut.

"A TRANSPORT LINE, YOU STUPID FUCK!" Kiryu snarled. "DO YOU EVEN  _LIVE_  ON THIS PLANE? WE HAVE TO TAKE THE RIGHT TRANSPORT LINE!"

Jack wasn't sure what to say to that, so he merely replied with, "Well, I like doing things the old-fashioned way."

"Hmph." Kiryu folded his arms and pouted, but he seemed to accept that answer. And as if by some heavenly miracle, Jack saw a sign that read "Gibson Hospital for the Mentally Ill, next 5 mi."

* * *

When Yusei opened his eyes, everything was blurry and groggy. There was someone looking down on him. Someone really good-looking. It occurred to him that he must have died and this was the angel of death taking him away.

"I dun wanna go ye…" he muttered.

"Doctor, he's awake!" Bruno called to someone outside the room.

"No, dun go…" Yusei tried to tell the angel. "Yer so pretty…"

The angel looked flustered at the compliment but then Yusei blinked, and he must have passed out again because now he could tell it was nighttime and the angel was gone. Jack was in the room instead.

"Jack?" moaned Yusei, and Jack's head snapped over to look at him.

"Hey. How're you feeling?" Jack asked.

"My head  _aches_ ," Yusei groaned, shakily lifting a hand to his throbbing head. He felt the soft cotton of a gauze strip.

"What happened? I can't remember anything…"

"Well, to make a long story short, Kiryu jumped on you and you hit your head on the asphalt," Jack told him.

"Is Kiryu okay?"

Jack looked grim.

"I had to take him to the hospital. Well, not this one. You know. A mental one."

Yusei sat bolt upright, which he quickly learned was a mistake and almost passed out again. Jack hurried forward to catch him so he didn't fall out of his hospital bed.

"Hey, take it easy," Jack advised him.

"No!" Yusei gasped, and he tried very feebly to get up. "Kiryu… have to… go… Kiryu…"

"Kiryu's not going anywhere," Jack assured him, pushing him back down onto the bed.

"They don't know… don't know him… different… different hospital…"

"I told them we were from a different area and they called his psychiatrist and got his records faxed over. It's going to be  _fine_. Just relax. You need rest."

"No, Kiryu…!"

"Oh, you're awake!"

Yusei's head snapped to the doorway where a very handsome person was standing. It took him a few seconds to remember that this was the guy from the motel parking lot.

"I… uh…" Yusei spluttered. He was terribly embarrassed to be seen in such a state by someone so gorgeous. He blushed even harder when he saw the cute guy holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Oh, uh… these are for you," the man said, a sheepish grin and blush on his face. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"T-Thanks," Yusei swallowed nervously.

"You hit your head pretty hard," he commented as he put the flowers on the bedside table.

"Y-Yeah…" Yusei muttered. He suddenly could not think a single intelligent thought. His mind seemed to be one long string of "uhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and several question marks.

"Oh, I never introduced myself to you," the handsome guy realized out loud. "My name is Bruno, Bruno Borrelli."

"I'm Fusei Yudo. I mean… Yusei Fudo." Yusei blushed again at tripping over his words. He felt like he had the IQ of a bowling ball.

But Bruno just smiled at him and said, "You hit your head pretty hard, it's okay."

Yusei groaned and put a hand to his bandaged forehead. Jack watched the whole scene with a lump of dread slowly creeping into his stomach. After everything that happened yesterday, all that talk about him and Kiryu, Yusei probably wouldn't hold anything back. He was already practically drooling over this guy. And for good measure, because he  _was_  really cute. Jack licked his lips discreetly.

"If you feel better, you can visit Kiryu in a few days," Jack said, snapping Yusei back to reality.

"Kiryu? Where is he?"

"A mental hospital, remember?"

Yusei rubbed his head. His memories were a bit fuzzy.

"What? Why?"

Jack huffed with annoyance.

"Because he had a bad episode, which is how you ended up here."

"…Oh."

Yusei laid back in his bed.

"The doctor said it might be a few days," Bruno told him. "But I promise I'll come visit you every day you're here."

Jack could see Yusei's heart melting through his eyes and it made him feel sick. He had fucked up, REALLY fucked up this time.

"Thanks. I'm sure I'll heal faster with you here."

Jack face palmed himself, which no one noticed. Yusei wasn't even hiding the fact that he was flirting, whether he meant to or not.

"Hey, Bruno, can I talk to Yusei privately for a minute?"

Yusei glared at him, but Bruno said, "Sure," and got up to leave.

Once Bruno was safely out of earshot, Jack rounded on Yusei.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"What are you talking about?" Yusei asked.

"I know you like my cousin so what's with all this flirting with that mechanic guy?!"

Yusei's cheeks turned red.

"Fuck off! It's none of your business who I go out with!"

"It IS my business! My cousin has problems and all this leading him on is not good for him. Today's episode was  _your_  fault!"

" _My_  fault?!" Yusei snarled. "MY fault?! A few days ago you dragged Kiryu into a room he was afraid to go in and caused him a lot of mental trauma! But yet this is  _my_  fault! Yeah, okay." Yusei was furious.

"If you hurt my cousin I will make you sorry," Jack threatened, his nostrils flaring.

"Kiryu and I will never be together!" Yusei hissed. "I accepted it already! Now grow up and leave me alone!"

Jack was so pissed that he just stormed from the room, not even looking back to see Bruno looking worried as he reentered Yusei's room.

* * *

Yusei spent five days recovering in the hospital. Jack only went back to see him once, and their meeting had been brief. It seemed Bruno was always there though, and it made Jack feel sick. Jack visited Kiryu several times a day, but he had gone into a catatonic state. For five days he just laid on his bed not moving, staring into nothingness. Jack was really worried and wondered if he should call Uncle Rudger and tell him what was happening. He decided he'd let Yusei make that call when Yusei finally went to check on Kiryu.

By now, Yusei and Bruno weren't even hiding their attraction to each other. He had flat out seen Bruno kiss Yusei's hand and tell him he looked cute, even with bandages around his head. Jack racked his brain trying to think how to fix this situation, but nothing came to mind. He'd just have to wait for Kiryu to get better so he could plead his own case against Bruno.

* * *

How much time had gone by? Eternity? The world kept changing and Kiryu knew the only thing keeping it going was his mental strength. He had to concentrate hard on keeping the world going or it would stop.

"He hasn't moved in days," Jack told Yusei as he helped Yusei to Kiryu's psych room. "He's in some kind of catatonic state."

"Kiryu?" Yusei called softly, sitting on his bed.

Kiryu's eyes flickered.

"He heard me," Yusei breathed. "Kiryu? Kiryu?"

Out of the rush of infinite time Kiryu heard Yusei calling his name. Yusei needed him. But if he moved, time would stop being infinite and become one-dimensional again. But Yusei's calls were getting louder and time was getting slower.

First his leg twitched, then his arm, then his head. Yusei wasn't sure if he should try touching him or not. But slowly it seemed Kiryu was coming back to life.

"Yu…sei…?" he murmured, and Yusei's heart leapt.

"Kiryu," Yusei breathed with relief. "How are you feeling?"

Kiryu didn't answer. It seemed he was still coming to.

"How long in earth time have I been gone?" he managed to ask.

"It's been five days," Jack replied.

"Only five days?!" Kiryu snorted mirthlessly. "Man, earth time sucks! I lived a thousand lives and here in this dimension it was only five lousy days!"

Yusei and Jack exchanged worried looks.

"How are you feeling?" Yusei asked again.

"Exhausted. Do you know how much energy I spent keeping time together for a thousand lifetimes?"

"What made you stop?" Jack asked.

"I… well, I heard Yusei calling for me…"

Jack gave Yusei a dirty look, who looked down in shame. He'd been acting like a real douche these past couple days. He had triggered Kiryu's episode and brought him back, and here he was going behind Kiryu's back and trying to get Bruno to like him.

Yusei bent down and stroked Kiryu's cheek.

"I'll always call for you, Kiryu."

Jack huffed loudly and left. Yusei knew he was in for an earful later.

"How long do I have to stay here?" Kiryu asked.

"Until the doctors feel you're better."

"But I'm good now. I was gone but you brought me back and I'm better now. Why can't I leave now?"

"Well, the doctors want to make sure you don't slip again."

"I'm leaving." Kiryu got up and slipped on shoes.

"Kiryu, you can't leave!"

"Oh, yeah? Watch me."

"If anyone should leave it should be Yusei," Jack said as he came back in.

"What? Why me?" Yusei pouted.

"Because it's family members only, now get out!" Jack pushed him out the room. "Your mechanic boyfriend is waiting for you outside," he snarled before slamming the door in Yusei's face.

"Jack, what was that all about?" Kiryu demanded.

"Listen," Jack sat Kiryu down. "Do you remember when I said I fucked up your relationship with Yusei?"

"Yeah," Kiryu said coolly.

"Well, in the five days you've been gone, Yusei and the blue-haired guy from the motel parking lot who was helping us with our car, Bruno, have been making googly eyes at each other and I'm pretty sure Bruno's spent more time in Yusei's hospital room than Yusei has. Look, you gotta-"

"WHAT?!" Kiryu leapt up, breathing fire. "I will END him!"

"Calm yourself," Jack ordered, pushing him back down. "Saying things like that will only prolong your stay here. You need to pretend to be sane so you can get out of here and get Yusei back."

"How the hell am I supposed to pretend I'm sane when I keep slipping between time streams?!" Kiryu huffed.

"By pretending you're  _not_ ," Jack informed him. Kiryu grumbled and rubbed his head.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that."

"Seriously, Kiryu," Jack warned him, "If you don't act now, you might lose your chance to be with Yusei. I don't want to see that happen. Yeah, I like to fuck with him because he's young and he feels almost like a younger brother to me. But when it comes down to it I want you two to be together. You can't let yourself get beat by another blue-haired pretty boy. Kiryu?"

Jack stopped because Kiryu had a weird look on his face. But then Kiryu shook his head and touched his face.

"I'm… dead," he said.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm dead. This is my afterlife body. Don't you see? Aren't my eyes black?"

"Kiryu, it's these things that are going to get you stuck in here longer. You have to ignore… supernatural things like that and pretend you are a normal human being in present earth time. Okay? If you want to be with Yusei that is the price."

Kiryu took some time to digest those harsh words. Finally, he nodded and said, "Alright. Alright, I'll do it. For Yusei."

"Good," Jack nodded. "If they deem you healthy you could be back as soon as tomorrow. I'll inform your doctor that you're awake and alert. Remember, no one can know that you're in a different time stream. You have to pretend you're in this one."

Kiryu nodded and Jack went to get a nurse.

* * *

Day 1: Kiryu managed to pretend he was in the present time stream. The doctors were impressed by his recovery.

Day 2: Kiryu was attacked by another patient but ignored it, thinking it was a hallucination. The lack of reaction to the situation made the nurses reevaluate Kiryu's health.

Day 3: Kiryu was caught having a conversation with himself, though he thought he was talking to another patient.

Day 4: Kiryu went the entire day without incident, and then asked if he could go home.

Day 5: Jack signed some papers and Kiryu was released. It felt good to be free again.

* * *

Yusei spent most of his time with Bruno, to Jack's disapproval. But he didn't care, because this felt right and Yusei felt so  _good_. But the day Kiryu came back was an awkward one.

"Ready to hit the road?" Kiryu asked, gathering up his belongings from the motel.

"Well," Yusei said, scratching his neck. "Bruno wants to join us."

"What? Yusei, this is  _our_  trip!" Kiryu whined like a two year old.

"Hey, you got to bring Jack, so I should get to bring somebody too!" Yusei argued. Kiryu really couldn't deny that.

"There's no room in our car!"

"Bruno's got a truck and he said he'd drive."

Kiryu looked scandalized.

"You're not gonna ride with  _him_  are you?!"

"Well…"

Kiryu stormed from the room angrily. Yusei looked sheepish but he didn't go back on his word. So, with palpable tension, Jack and Kiryu got into one car and Bruno and Yusei got into the other.

"Bruno needs to go…!" Kiryu snarled as Jack started driving. "What the hell does Yusei think he's doing, bringing some slutbag on  _our_  trip?!"

"I know, I know," Jack agreed. "Don't worry, I'll think of something."

"Fix it, Jack," Kiryu sniffed, letting tears run down his face. "Please."


	5. Love Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems Yusei and Bruno are a thing. What can Jack do to save the day? Fuck everything up.
> 
> **triggers: self harm

**5:** **Love Game**

The group was set to stay at Jack's summer beach house for the next week. Everyone, including Bruno, had their own separate room (Kiryu made sure of that). And to Kiryu's dismay, Bruno was actually nice and polite and helpful throughout their trip. He really hated that he actually kind of liked the guy. But the way he looked at Yusei was unforgivable.

When they arrived at the beach house, Kiryu immediately went to smoke. Jack walked over to join him as Yusei was helped out of the truck by Bruno like a gentleman. Kiryu glowered in their direction.

"Look at them, chatting away like a couple of chatty cathys!" he spat, clearly annoyed.

"Who? Yusei and Bruno?" Jack inquired, lighting up.

"Look at them, all over each other like ugly on a moose! Ugly on Bruno." He was giving the blue-haired mechanic the death glare he gave anyone who threatened his potential relationship with Yusei. Jack looked over. They weren't even hiding the blatant flirting anymore. He took a long drag and exhaled dramatically. Something had to be done.

"Bruno and I are going to the hardware store," Yusei came over to enthusiastically tell the smokers. "He needs to get something for his truck."

"Fine!" Kiryu hissed, and he purposely blew smoke into Yusei's face. Yusei coughed and waved his hand in front of his face to ward off the toxins. To Kiryu's fury, Yusei didn't even seem to mind, when usually he made a big deal about cigarette smoke.

"Come on, Bruno," Yusei called, and to Kiryu's _increasing_ fury Yusei took his hand. Bruno blushed slightly, looking pleased. As soon as they were out of sight Kiryu stamped out his cigarette.

"That's it. He's outta here!" he snarled, stamping repeatedly.

"I'll take care of it. Don't worry," Jack assured him.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Bruno asked a little shyly as they approached the hardware store.

"Yeah," Yusei nodded, and his heart beat excitedly as Bruno pulled him aside. They looked at each other, rosy-cheeked.

"Um… I just wanted to say… that I… uh… well… I really like you," Bruno was finally able to blurt out. Yusei smiled. A boy actually liked him!

"I like you too," Yusei breathed, and suddenly he was aware of how close their faces were, considering Bruno was as tall if not taller than Jack. Bruno seemed to notice this too, and he tilted Yusei's chin up so their lips could meet.

A rush of adrenaline spiked through Yusei's body and he got caught up in the moment. Bruno's lips tasted sweet and the hand on his arm was so gentle. Yusei completely melted.

When they finally pulled away, Yusei looked completely flustered.

"Was that your first kiss?" Bruno asked, a little concerned. Yusei just nodded.

"Shit… Well, that puts a lot of pressure on me, doesn't it?" he chuckled nervously.

"W-Was I good?" Yusei asked with the same nervousness.

"You were fine." Bruno smiled and stroked his cheek. "Um… We've only known each other for a little while, but… would you go out with me?" Bruno's cheeks turned bright red.

"Yeah. I'd like that," Yusei agreed. Bruno kissed him again to seal the deal.

"Okay, shopping time!" Bruno said excitedly, pulling Yusei into the shop.

When the two returned, Jack and Kiryu had already unpacked and were checking out the pool area. Jack could immediately tell something had changed between them. It was one of his gifts as the notorious heartbreaker of his age. Jack elbowed Kiryu and pointed them out.

"What?"

"I think they finalised their relationship," Jack said darkly to Kiryu. Kiryu's heart froze in his chest. He felt himself slipping between time streams. He was dead. He was dead and he was going to have revenge.

"Kiryu?" Jack asked apprehensively, for he had just seen an almost psychotic smile spread across his cousin's face as he got up.

"Boys, what took you so long~?" he asked with flamboyant cheerfulness. Yusei stopped and gave Kiryu a questioning look. However, Bruno didn't know that this wasn't Kiryu's normal self.

"Sorry. Um, where should I put this?" Bruno asked, holding up his bag.

"Here, I'll take that for you," Kiryu offered sweetly.

"Thanks," Bruno replied, handing him the bag.

"Bruno, no!" Yusei yelled, but it was too late. Kiryu chucked the bag with all of its contents into the pool.

"Hey!" Bruno exclaimed, but before he could properly think about what had just happened, Kiryu shoved him hard and _he_ fell into the pool. Jack put his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

"Bruno!" Yusei yelled again, and before he could do anything but glare at Kiryu, he too was thrown in the pool.

"Whoops. My hand slipped," Kiryu snorted sarcastically, and he laughed all the way into the house.

"Yusei, are you okay?" Bruno asked, more worried about his new boyfriend than the expensive materials he had just bought.

"I'm fine," Yusei grumbled. He shot an angry glare at Jack who was still laughing.

"You think this is funny?!" he snapped at him.

"Well, yes," Jack replied blatantly. "And I think you deserved it." He got up and went to look for Kiryu. If he was going to have an episode he had to make sure he didn't break anything valuable. However, when Jack entered the house, he didn't hear a peep.

"Kiryu?!" he called. No answer. That couldn't be good. Jack checked each bedroom, looking under the bed, in the closets, anywhere someone could hide. Finally in the last bedroom there was a private bathroom and Jack heard a noise coming from it.

"Kiryu? You okay?"

"Don't come in here!" Kiryu snapped, which alarmed Jack. He raced in and saw Kiryu slicing his arm up with a pocket knife. Jack's personal pocket knife.

"Hey, did you steal that from me?" Jack demanded. Kiryu narrowed his eyes at him and turned the knife on him.

"So what if I did?"

"You shouldn't steal," Jack said. "Come on, put it down."

"No. I am beyond death. I deserve pain and I'm going to engrave it even deeper." He slit another line down his arm. Jack winced. How could Kiryu do that without any emotion?

"Kiryu, come on, man, you're getting blood on my blade," Jack tried to reason with him. Anything that might get him to stop.

"Sorry for the inconvenience," Kiryu snorted.

"You don't really want to do this, Kiryu, come on," Jack tried again. "You're upset and you're not thinking clearly. Please, put the knife down. I'll get you bandages, painkillers, anything. I'll dress you up and no harm done. No one will have to know-"

"NO!" Kiryu screamed, and Jack took a step back. "I WANT YUSEI TO DO IT! I WANT YUSEI TO DIE WITH ME!"

"Calm down, Kiryu, just calm down, okay?" Jack urged him. "They'll send you back to the hospital if you keep this up! Is that what you want?!"

Kiryu broke down into sobs and curled up on the ground. Jack quickly snatched his knife away and stuffed it in a drawer where Kiryu wouldn't know where it was. Then he knelt beside his cousin and held him, really unsure of what to do. This was Yusei's area of expertise but getting Yusei was out of the question.

"It'll be okay, Kiryu, I promise," Jack assured him. "I'll fix it. I'll fix all of this. Okay? I promise."

After Kiryu quieted down, Jack dressed his wounds and helped him into bed. He cleaned up the bathroom and only left when he was sure Kiryu was asleep.

Bruno and Yusei were in the kitchen. They had changed clothes and seemed blissfully unaware of the turmoil Jack had just gone through. Jack narrowed his eyes at Yusei when they made eye contact.

"Kiryu is really upset," Jack hissed through gritted teeth.

" _He's_ upset? He pushed US into the pool!" Bruno pouted. Jack glared at him. Bruno did not yet understand how Kiryu dealt with emotions.

"I'll go talk to him," Yusei sighed, getting up, but Jack pushed him back down.

"The hell you will!"

"Jack, get off me!" Yusei snapped.

"Don't even THINK about going near him!" Jack jabbed a finger at Yusei. "You with your whole _~you have to be more sensitive to Kiryu's illness~_ , and then you turn around and pull a stunt like this! He could have killed us all! He could have killed him _self_ -! I hope you're fucking happy!" Jack snatched up his bags from beside the table and stormed out. He was going to spend the night with Kiryu, to make sure he was okay.

 

* * *

 

"Jack, I'm hungry."

It was four in the morning and Kiryu was poking his cousin's face. They were sharing a bed and that gave Kiryu the right to annoy his cousin.

"Kiryu, go to sleep."

"I'm hungryyyy~" he whined.

"Go get something then."

"I want pancakes."

"Go make some then."

"You really think I should be allowed to use an oven after what I did earlier?"

Jack groaned and whined before resigning and getting up.

"Fine. I'll make you fucking pancakes."

"Thank you Jacky~" Kiryu kissed his cheek. Jack grumbled something incoherent. Kiryu took his hand and bounded behind him happily. Well, overly cheery Kiryu was better than upset, depressed, dangerous Kiryu. Jack let him be affectionate.

When they walked into the kitchen and turned the light on, there was already someone in the kitchen. Yusei had been sitting at the table, head in his arms. He looked like he'd been crying.

"Kiryu?" he said, getting up.

"Oh. Hi, Yusei," Kiryu replied awkwardly. He was still holding Jack's hand. Yusei's eye darted down to see this and then back at Kiryu and Jack, his expression hardening.

"I couldn't sleep… because I… but I see you're obviously feeling better," Yusei said dryly. Kiryu gave him a warm smile.

"I am feeling much better, thank you," he replied. "Jack is making me pancakes." Yusei looked at Jack and Jack shrugged.

"Then you obviously don't need me if Jack's here," Yusei said coolly.

"I guess not," Kiryu said smugly. Yusei made some kind of frustrated noise and then left to go back to his room without another word. Kiryu was still smiling but his hand was reaching for the silverware drawer.

"Nuh uh uh! Go sit at the table if you want pancakes!" Jack ordered. Kiryu pouted but did as he was told. His eyes still darted to the drawer though. Jack knew Kiryu knew that that's where the knives were. He made a mental note to lock them up later.

 

* * *

 

The next morning was a bit awkward. Yusei and Bruno acted normal and Kiryu was overly cheerful, a dangerous sign that meant he could switch moods at the drop of a hat. Jack wondered if it was really okay to have let Kiryu out of the hospital so soon. Especially because Bruno and Yusei had gotten together anyway. Jack was still working on a way to get rid of him.

The idea came to Jack throughout the course of the day. Jack observed the behavior of the new couple, and what he saw was very interesting. Bruno kept trying to make subtle passes at Yusei, but Yusei kept rejecting them. And the hungry look in Bruno's eyes… yes, Jack knew that look. Bruno wanted the D. And Yusei was such a bashful virgin that even Bruno's hand sliding down his hip was enough to make him uncomfortable. Or maybe it was because Yusei wasn't completely over Kiryu. Whatever the reason, Jack started to formulate a plan.

 

* * *

 

When everyone was getting ready for bed that night, Jack nonchalantly swept past Bruno and whispered, "Hey, can I talk to you after everyone goes to bed?"

"Uh… Sure…" Bruno replied, and Jack winked at him. To Jack's pleasure, he saw a light blush creep across Bruno's cheeks. Oh, this was going to be too easy.

 

* * *

 

"So, what's up?" Bruno asked, after kissing Yusei goodnight and looking longingly at his bed before the door was closed on him.

"I see what you're trying to do."

"I… what?" Bruno looked confused.

"You're trying to get in Yusei's pants."

Bruno's face turned red faster than a stop light. He opened his mouth to defend himself but Jack cut him off.

"No need to defend yourself. It was just an observation. I'm good at reading body language." Jack smirked at him. Bruno coughed and shuffled his feet.

"There's something you need to know about Yusei, though."

"What?" Bruno looked up at him with concern. Jack put his hands on Bruno's shoulders.

"Look, as I'm sure you already know, Yusei is a bit of a…. prude."

"I… well…" Bruno seemed very flustered.

"If you want a sexual relationship you're not gonna get it from him."

Jack wondered how much redder Bruno's face could get. He looked like he wanted to evaporate.

"I'm just going to cut to the chase," Jack finally stated, standing firm. "I've seen how you look at me. You think I'm attractive. And I think you're attractive. And I'm willing to give myself up to you now. Tonight. Right now." Jack leaned forward and licked Bruno's neck. Bruno gasped and recoiled slightly, but didn't react negatively.

"I… but… I'm… Y-Yusei…!"

"The choice is yours," Jack whispered in his ear, and he smoothly slipped a condom out of his pocket and into one of Bruno's back pockets, causing him to squeak cutely in retaliation. "I'll be waiting in my room." Jack took a step back to admire his work. Bruno was trembling with lust. He was horny and every second Yusei was asleep by himself was a second wasted. But Jack was giving him a release. To seal the deal, Jack removed his shirt dramatically.

"And I'll be naked."

 

* * *

 

Yusei was eating cereal when Bruno appeared. He had on only his boxers and a button up shirt that looked suspiciously like the one Jack had been wearing the previous day, except it was buttoned wrong and loosely. Bruno looked completely spent, like he hadn't slept at all, and Yusei noticed there was a slight limp in his step.

"Good morning~" Yusei smiled at him. Bruno rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, Yusei…" he mumbled. When he seemed to collect his thoughts he sat down.

"Look, I have to tell you something."

Yusei cocked his head.

"Is everything okay?"

"Good morning~" sang Jack as he strutted into the kitchen. His chest was puffed out with pride. A victory stride for someone who had gotten laid the previous night. Yusei couldn't think who, though, since the only people in this cottage were him, Jack, Kiryu, and Bruno. Surely not Kiryu?

"'Morning, babe." And to Yusei's shock and horror, Jack bent his head to kiss Bruno's neck, which made him giggle. And Jack, being the alpha male that he was, bit down on Bruno's neck as he looked up at Yusei with the evilest, most knowing eyes Yusei had ever seen. He knew what he had done and he'd done it on purpose.

Yusei pushed himself from the table and, leaving his cereal, promptly left without a word.

He stormed outside and when he saw Kiryu smoking on the porch, he grabbed a cigarette from Kiryu's carton.

"Hey, what're you-?!" Kiryu started, but Yusei was already fumbling for Kiryu's lighter. He found it, silver with handcuffs carved on them, and lit up.

"You're smoking?" Kiryu raised an eyebrow. "You don't smoke."

"I want one. I want a hundred of them. I want so many cartons full that just looking at them gives me lung cancer."

"You okay, Yusei?" Kiryu asked, concerned.

"I'm fucking fine!" he snarled. He took a long drag and then coughed out the smoke.

"Newb," Kiryu smirked, but Yusei wasn't laughing, not in the slightest. He glared at Kiryu and then took another drag, this time steadier. He blew the smoke out of his mouth in a steady stream. A sickening feeling washed over him, but he was also strangely giddy. He was doing something he knew was bad and he didn't care. He let this sudden madness take control- anything to stop feeling the unbearable, slicing pain in his heart. He rammed the butt of the cigarette into his right wrist. It hurt immensely and he bit his lip to keep from crying out.

"Yusei, what the fuck?!" Kiryu dropped his own cigarette and smacked Yusei's out of his hand.

"Oh, like you've never done that before!" Yusei snapped viciously, and Kiryu was really starting to get concerned now.

"Please tell me this is just a hallucination," Kiryu swallowed nervously.

"I wish," Yusei snorted. Then he lit the lighter and just stared at it, as if trying to make up his mind about something. Kiryu snatched it from him and pocketed it.

"So it's okay when you do it but not me?!" Yusei demanded angrily.

"Yeah, because I usually don't do it by choice!" Kiryu snapped back.

Yusei snorted with laughter and Kiryu realized he must be having some sort of mental breakdown. So he slapped him.

There was thirty seconds of silence where Yusei just stood there. Then slowly, he said, "I want to go home."

"Yusei, what is going on?" Kiryu sighed.

"Why don't you ask your cum-guzzling cousin?!" Yusei pushed Kiryu out of his way and stormed back inside.

 

* * *

 

Kiryu went back inside shortly. He didn't see Yusei so he guessed he went back to his room or the bathroom or something. Kiryu walked into the kitchen to find a disheveled but gleeful looking Bruno spoon-feeding a proud,Jack.

Oh. So that's why Yusei was upset. Well, good. Kiryu wasn't going to complain.

"What's all this?" Kiryu asked in a fake innocent voice, gesturing to the couple.

"We fucked," Jack bragged and Bruno's face turned bright red as he playfully smacked Jack for saying such a thing.

"We got together," Bruno replied, as if trying to overwrite Jack's answer. Jack leaned in to kiss his new love toy but Bruno looked down ashamedly.

"I think I really hurt Yusei, though," he worried. "I mean, we were kind of dating… but then Jack…" Bruno cleared his throat nervously.

"But then me," Jack agreed, cupping Bruno's chin.

 

* * *

 

Yusei refused to be in the same room as Jack and Bruno. It seemed Bruno really wanted to try to explain himself, but Yusei didn't want to hear it. When it was time to leave and continue their trip, Jack rode with Bruno in his truck and Yusei rode with Kiryu. Kiryu had been a lot more stable since that morning and was even able to drive. Yusei didn't talk the entire way, not even to mention how much better Kiryu seemed. He was too upset to even talk anything out. And the worst part was that he knew, deep down, that he deserved this.

 

* * *

 

Jack figured this rest stop gas station was a perfect place to dump Bruno. He hadn't really wanted anything serious, but it seemed Bruno did, so Jack was cutting him off now before they got in this too deep. He could hitch a ride back with Kiryu and Yusei, and Bruno could go… wherever.

"Hey, Bruno, can I talk to you for a sec? Over here?" Jack asked, motioning to the side of the building.

"Yeah, sure," Bruno smiled warmly at him and Jack felt a bit guilty. They stepped aside and Jack wasn't sure what kind of body language to convey.

"Look," he sighed, scratching his head. "I know you really like me, but… I'm just not ready for a serious relationship right now."

The smile faded from Bruno's face as his heart started to crack.

"What?"

"I'm not ready for commitment right now. I just got out of a really bad, serious relationship and I haven't recovered yet."

Jack saw Bruno's eyes gloss over.

"Oh… alright…" he said quietly. "I just wish you had told me that before."

"But then you would have stayed with Yusei, and I wanted you," Jack told him.

"Yeah, well, now you don't and I've screwed up my chances with Yusei, so thanks, thanks a lot." Bruno looked utterly hurt and betrayed. He sniffed and dabbed at his eyes.

"I gotta go." His voice cracked as he hurried away back to his truck. Jack sighed and turned without looking back, going inside to find Kiryu and Yusei and let them know what he did.

 

* * *

 

Yusei and Kiryu were in line inside the little gas station convenience store when Jack walked over to them, hands in pockets and shoulders slumped.

"Hey," he shrugged, and Yusei blatantly ignored him.

"Hey, where's Bruno?" Kiryu asked.

"Probably going home. I dumped him."

"What?! Why?!" Yusei swirled around.

"Because I'm not ready for a relationship yet."

Yusei gave a laugh of disbelief.

"So you stole him from me, just to fucking dump him the next day?! What the fuck are you playing at?!" he demanded.

"Hey, he could have chosen you," Jack matched him, which was more impressive because he was more than a head taller than Yusei. "But he didn't. He chose me. So get over it. And you know _exactly_ what I'm playing at."

Yusei kicked Jack's shin. He yelped and hopped on one foot but then grinned at Yusei.

"Wow, you are such a weakling."

"Hey hey hey, alright. Stop this, you two." Kiryu stood between them. Yusei shoved the food in his arms into Kiryu's arms and stormed out.

"Look, I'm thankful that you got Bruno outta here, but can you not upset Yusei so much, please?" Kiryu huffed.

"He'll get over it," Jack shrugged, helping Kiryu hold the items. "Besides, the madder he is at me the more he attaches to you."

 

* * *

 

Luckily, Jack had foreseen his breakup with Bruno and had secretly put all his belongings in Yusei’s car before they had left. When they got back to the car, Yusei was in the driver's seat, looking murderous.

"Hey, I was driving," Kiryu pouted, but Yusei just glared back at him.

"I'm forcing myself to not kill Jack by focusing on driving," Yusei snarled, "so either I drive or we leave Jack here."

Jack shrugged to Kiryu and Kiryu replied, "Fine," before getting in the passenger seat. Yusei revved up the engine and blasted the radio on the loudest setting possible. Jack yawned and laid down in the back. He slept most of the ride. To his surprise he dreamed about Bruno. His dorky smile, his nervous uncertainty when he spoke, his blushing face as Jack nibbled his neck, his panting breath as Jack dominated him. His hurt eyes when Jack dumped him.

The sun was setting when finally, he sat up in the back of the car and said, "We need to turn back."

"Excuse me?" Yusei snorted.

"We need. To turn. Back," Jack emphasized. "I think I've made a horrible mistake."

"Coming with us? Yeah, I'll say," Yusei sneered.

"No, I mean… Fuck. I think I really do like Bruno."

Yusei pulled over and put the car into park.

"ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW?!"

Kiryu, who had been sleeping, woke with a start.

"What's happening? Are we there?" he asked sleepily.

"We have to go back. I think I like Bruno."

Kiryu raised an eyebrow and then looked at Yusei.

"If we turn back now we might be able to catch him."

"Trust me, Jack, he's long gone by now. We are NOT turning back!" Yusei snapped, putting the car back into drive.

"You're just mad because he picked me!" Jack snapped back at him. Yusei shrieked with indignant laughter.

"I swear to god, Jack, push one more button, _one more_ , and you're outta here!"

"Everyone calm down!" Kiryu tried to reason with them.

"Of course you'd take his fucking side!" Yusei hissed.

"Yusei, I wasn't-!"

"What is your PROBLEM, Yusei?!" Jack snapped. "If anyone's at fault here it's you! You like Kiryu but yet you went off and tried to get with a horny mechanic who chose lust over love and you're mad at _me_?!"

Yusei pulled over and got out. Kiryu immediately unbuckled and went after him. Yusei was much faster, and Kiryu quickly lost him in the trees, though he heard him throwing up. He followed the sound of retching and found Yusei hunched over by a tree.

"Yusei…"

"Go away, Kiryu!" Yusei snapped, his voice hoarse.

"No. Start talking," he demanded, folding his arms.

"About what?" Yusei sneered.

"About liking me and going after someone else. Why would you do that?"

"Because I liked him, okay? And you and I will never be together!"

"What makes you say that?" Kiryu was genuinely surprised.

"Because you're in love with Jack!"

The color drained from Kiryu's face.

"Oh god, he told you, didn't he?"

Yusei nodded and covered his mouth as hot tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Look, Yusei… that was never supposed to happen…. You should know better than anyone what I'm like when I'm under a delusion…"

"W-What…? Yusei sniffed.

"It happened a long time ago. I didn't even know you then. That's why Uncle Rex moved Jack away from me, because Jack will sleep with anything that moves and I can't be trusted-"

"W-WHAT?!" Yusei gasped, looking scandalized. "DID YOU TWO…. _DID YOU TWO SLEEP TOGETHER?! FOR REAL?!_ "

Kiryu blinked.

"Oh… that's… that's not what he told you, is it…?"

Yusei turned and threw up again. His stomach actually hurt- _burned_ from this knowledge.

"I'm going home…" Yusei sniffed in a raspy voice. He hiccuped and vomited again, and then swayed where he stood. Kiryu ran over just in time to catch him as his eyes rolled back in his head and he lost consciousness. He was heavy but Kiryu was able to support him and drag him back to the car.

"Woah, what happened?" Jack asked in alarm, opening the side door.

"Well, I _think_ …" Kiryu said, laying Yusei in the back, "I _think…._ I accidentally told Yusei about the time we had sex?"

Jack facepalmed himself.

"I really thought there was no way to make your situation worse, but congratulations, you moron."

"Hey, this is mostly your fault so shut up!" Kiryu snapped.

"Whatever. So why is Yusei unconscious? Did you hit him or something?"

"No! He threw up a lot and passed out. I don't know, I think it's just part of whatever panic disorder he has."

"What are you gonna say to him when he wakes up?"

"I don't know," Kiryu sighed, getting in the driver seat. Jack took the passenger next to him. "Hopefully I can play it off as a bad dream he had. I really didn't want him to find out." Kiryu put the car into drive. He was feeling so much clearer today. No mood swings, minimal hallucinations.

"So how long have you known Yusei liked me?"

"A few days before you went to the hospital. I was only teasing him about you liking someone and he took it completely the wrong way and I was in too deep to fix it. But, that doesn't matter now. What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know…" Kiryu sighed. "He seemed to really like that Bruno guy. If he can like someone else then he doesn't like me enough."

"So make him like you more," Jack suggested. Kiryu snorted.

"Right. Because a crazy, moody, unstable guy like me is so easily likable. Yeah, okay."

"Just saying, you _can_ do something about it."

Kiryu bit his lip. What _could_ he do about it?

"Cut out his heart and eat it," Crow said.

"And what would that accomplish?" Kiryu huffed.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Sorry, Crow said something to me."

"You're hallucinating? Should you be driving when that happens?"

"I'm fine," Kiryu assured him.

"No, you're not!" Crow said gleefully, and he covered Kiryu's eyes.

Kiryu screamed and swerved off the road. Luckily Jack guessed Crow had done something, influenced by them talking about him, and Jack grabbed the wheel so they avoided crashing.

"I got it, stop the car!" Jack said urgently. Terrified, Kiryu pressed the brakes.

"You are a shit driver," Crow laughed, flying away. Kiryu sighed and rested his head against the steering wheel.

"Why can't I be fucking normal for five minutes?" he growled. Jack rubbed his shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm sorry, but I think I should drive now, alright?"

"But I like driving…" Kiryu grumbled, unbuckling and getting out.

"Yusei's dead," said a little girl, pointing to the back of the car.

" _WHAT?!_ " Kiryu gasped, cold terror hitting him like a tsunami.

"What?!" Jack asked with alarm. Kiryu threw open the doors and shook Yusei, bursting into tears. How could this happen? He didn't even get to tell him how he felt…

"Kiryu, STOP!" Yusei yelled, trying to struggle away from him. Kiryu stopped crying and looked down at him.

"Yusei?" he sniffed.

"I'm awake now, okay? Sheesh," he grumbled. Kiryu sniffed and then pulled him into a hug.

"Ruka said you died again."

"Well, you should know by now not to believe her."

Jack looked at the two hugging in the back. He wanted that. Well, sort of.

He wanted Bruno back.


	6. Kiss and Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack tries to get Bruno back by screwing with more people. Kiryu remembers his past. Aki calls with some surprising news.

**6:** **Kiss and Control**

Yusei had decided. He was going to pretend that he didn't remember what Kiryu had accidentally told him. Besides, what did it matter now? Jack wanted Bruno and it didn't seem as though Kiryu cared. But knowing that they'd slept together hurt Yusei badly. The first chance alone he got he called Aki.

"Hey, Yusei. How's your little field trip with Kiryu and Jack?"

"They slept together."

There was a noise that sounded as though Aki had dropped the phone.

"Aki?"

"S-Sorry! Oh my GOD, and with you there?!"

"No no no. They slept together before I moved here."

"Oh. I thought you meant on the trip. Yusei, that's nothing."

"It's not nothing. I'm pretty sure Kiryu is still in love with him."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Just… the way he acts around him, okay? And why would he have invited Jack along on  _our_  trip unless he still has feelings for him?!"

There was a sigh from the other end and Yusei knew Aki wasn't taking him seriously.

"Aki…!"

"Look, Yusei, why don't you just straight-up ask him if he still has feelings for Jack? All this guessing and assuming is just going to stress you out and probably cause you to get sick again."

"Aki, who're you talking to?"

"Just someone from work!" Aki called. That must have been Divine.

"Look, Yusei, I gotta go, okay?" she whispered. "Just… don't do anything stupid." And she hung up.

Yusei sighed. He missed when he could talk to Aki for hours at a time. But since her parents kicked her out she'd been living with her boyfriend Divine and lately he'd been getting more and more aggressive towards Aki and other guys, even though Yusei had personally told him on the phone that he was gay. Apparently that wasn't good enough. How long before he made Aki chose between himself or Yusei?

* * *

 

It was a lazy sort of day. Jack stayed in bed, too depressed over Bruno to get up. Kiryu was exhausted from the previous day's events. He was pretty sure Yusei didn't remember what he had said but… it nagged at his mind. That all happened so long ago, though…. why should Yusei even care?

_Kiryu should have realized something was wrong the moment he woke up and saw colors he'd never seen before. Everything felt… floaty. And bubbly._

_There was a knock on his door._

' _Kiryu, get up! Uncle Rex and Jack are here!'_

_The name 'Jack' bounced around his room like a beam of sunlight._

_Jack._

_Jack._

_Jack._

_This had to be what love felt like._

_Kiryu floated down the stairs on a cloud and into the dining room where the love of his life was sitting and smiling at him._

' _Hey, Kiryu,' Jack greeted his cousin. Kiryu's heart melted when he said his name and he giggled like a schoolgirl. Jack grinned sheepishly._

' _How are you feeling?' Jack asked._

' _I feel great!' Kiryu giggled, sitting down across from him._

' _Your father was just telling me,' Uncle Rex started, 'that you're having some tests done?'_

' _What? There's nothing wrong with me!' Kiryu said quickly, looking pleadingly at Jack. Jack shrugged._

' _It's just a precaution,' Rudger said, trying to calm his son down. 'You know, Rex…'_

_Kiryu wasn't listening anymore. He was too busy staring dreamily at Jack, with his luscious blond hair and amethyst eyes and slim figure. When Jack noticed his cousin staring at him, he looked around and then whispered, 'Hey, you okay?'_

' _Never been better~' Kiryu giggled, and he got up to get Jack something cool to drink._

Kiryu rolled out of bed and into the shower, dodging spikes and various other sharp objects that weren't really there. His shower head spat rhymes at him and his soap melted. A typical start to the day. When his soap was soap again, he grabbed it and washed his body. His soap began making inappropriate remarks about where it had been on Jack's body previously, though they didn't even share soap. The guilt from yesterday was showing.

' _Kiryu, are you feeling okay?' Jack asked, because Kiryu had been smiling dumbly at him all day and looking away whenever he looked at him._

' _I'm fineee,' Kiryu giggled. '_ You're _fine.'_

" _What?" Jack said._

" _What?" Kiryu replied innocently._

"Kiryu, I'm going out for a while," Jack called, knocking on the bathroom door. "Yusei's here if you need him."

Great. Alone with Yusei. This was just going to keep getting awkward, wasn't it?

' _Please, Jacky-Jack,' Kiryu whined, his eyes large and round and glossy._

' _I just… I don't think it's such a good idea, Kiryu,' Jack told him, trying to let him down easy._

' _But you're soooo experienced and I have no experience! Who else is gonna teach me?'_

_Even Jack couldn't resist that pout for long._

' _Okay. Okay, if we do this… No one can know, alright?'_

' _Okay!' Kiryu replied excitedly._

' _Cause I'm still not sure if this is even… okay.'_

' _What, it's not like we're blood-related. Don't you think I'm good looking?'_

' _Well… yeah, of course. If we weren't related I'd probably…'_

' _No one has to know~'_

Kiryu finished his shower and dried his hair. His towel told him to go to hell as he hung it up. Time for medication. It must be working if he could think this clearly, even with inanimate objects talking to him. Or maybe it was just this location. They were right on the outskirts of a rich town. Jack knew a guy who lived around here. He was the heir to some Italian car company or something. According to Jack he was a bit of a snob, which was why Jack never talked to him. Kiryu was pretty sure that meant Jack made a pass at him and had been rejected. Maybe that's who he was going out to visit, since he was so depressed over Bruno. As big of a heartbreaker as Jack could be, if he attached to someone there was no going back. That was why he had lasted so long with that Carly girl. The breakup had been mutual but Kiryu could tell it was a blow to Jack's ego. She'd been the first girl he actually saw himself having a life with. He had told him so on the phone. And now Jack, trying to do him, Kiryu, a favor, and also because he got sex out of it, had let himself feel for another person. And now things were spiraling downward. How did this trip end up like this?

' _Oh god, we made a horrible mistake.' Shame washed over Kiryu when he woke up in bed with Jack the next day._

' _What? You wanted this! You were practically crying you were begging so much!' Jack looked alarmed._

' _I don't… I can barely remember yesterday. Is that weird?' Kiryu looked scared. Jack really wasn't sure what to do now._

' _Uh… well, no one has to know, okay?' Jack assured him. Kiryu nodded but couldn't stop himself from bursting into tears. Jack wasn't sure if a comforting hug was appropriate._

' _Kids, breakfast!'_

' _Alright, Kiryu, stop crying. If we go down and you're upset they'll know something's up.'_

' _Okay,' Kiryu sniffed, wiping his face._

* * *

 

"Hi," Kiryu said, sitting down on the couch.

"Hi," Yusei replied, not looking at him.

"Do you wanna… go get pizza or something?" Kiryu asked.

"Sure, I guess," Yusei replied.

Kiryu wanted to hold his hand, but that didn't seem right after yesterday's events.

"I'll hold your hand, Kiryu-sama," Crow said, taking Kiryu's other hand.

"Thanks, Crow," Kiryu sighed gratefully. It was nice to hold hands, even if it wasn't Yusei's.

"What did Crow do?" Yusei asked coolly.

"Something nice, for once," Kiryu smiled.

"I guess the medication is working then, huh?"

"Yeah," Kiryu agreed.

"Don't worry, I'll kill Yusei last," Crow replied cheerfully.

* * *

 

_All week Jack and Kiryu acted strangely around each other. Rex and Rudger could tell something was up. It didn't take them long to guess what had happened._

' _I'm moving away,' Jack told his cousin solemnly._

' _What? Why?'_

' _I think Dad found out about… you know…'_

' _Shit.' Kiryu pressed his palm to his forehead. 'Shit shit shittttt. This is all my fault. This is_ all _my_  fault _…!'_

' _You didn't know. You weren't… you that day,' Jack tried to reassure him. 'Anyway, maybe it's better this way.'_

' _I'll miss you,' Kiryu sniffled._

' _I'll miss you, too.' Jack gave his cousin a hug._

Jack drove around town. He debated visiting the person he knew who lived around here, but decided against it since last time hadn't ended so well. Jack just really needed to take his mind off things, so he stopped at a mechanics shop to have the oil in Yusei's car changed. To his utter amazement, there was a guy with blue hair working on a car there.

"Bruno?!" Jack called, practically jumping out of the car. The man looked around at the call, but it wasn't Bruno. His hair was spikier and he was wearing loud red goggles, probably for work.

"Did you just call me Bruno?" he asked.

"Uh… yeah. Sorry. You just… kind of looked like someone I knew. Sorry!" Jack apologized, embarrassed.

"Well, I have a twin brother named Bruno. Maybe you know him?"

Jack's heart leapt.

"Yes! Yes, please, I need to speak to him! It's urgent!" Jack could not believe his luck.

"I can give you his phone number," Bruno's twin offered.

"Great! I'd rather speak to him in person though," Jack replied. Suddenly the twin gave him a suspicious look.

"You're not that piece of scum who broke his heart, are you?"

"I… n-no! Of course not!" Jack laughed nervously, but the twin narrowed his eyes.

"He said he was tall, blond, and gorgeous, so hell if it isn't you!"

Jack couldn't deny it.

"Look, please hear me out," Jack pleaded. "It turns out I really  _do_  like him and want a serious relationship. I just didn't know it at the time. Please, you have to take me to him!"

"No fucking way!" his brother spat.

" _Please!_ I'll do anything!"

"No way." Bruno's brother was very firm in his decision. No matter how much Jack begged, he wouldn't give in.

"If you don't leave me alone, I'm calling the police!" he finally snapped. But before Jack could beg once again, his phone rang. The caller ID was unknown but Jack figured it could be something Kiryu-related, so he picked it up.

"Hello?" he answered as Bruno's brother gave him a hard look that definitely said 'go away!'

"Jacky-boy, how are you?"

"Wha-? Placido? How did you get my number?!" Jack was astonished, but there was no doubt who that voice belonged to. Only one person called him Jacky-boy.

"I know people. Listen, I heard you were in town, and I'm having a gala. I think it would be in your best interest to attend."

"My best interest? What would I get out of going to  _your_  party?" Jack snorted.

"Oh, did I say  _your_  best interest? I meant mine."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Five PM, my estate. Wear white."

Jack hung up in disgust. However, Bruno's twin was looking at him with new interest.

"Placido? Not… Placido of the Yliaster company, right?"

"Yeah…" Jack replied suspiciously. Just as he could read Bruno, he read Antinomy's slight color peak in his cheeks and sharp breath intake. A plan formed itself in his head immediately.

"You know, Placido's been asking me to set him up with a hot mechanic friend," Jack said nonchalantly. "He has a thing for built guys on motorcycles. You wouldn't happen to know anyone, would you?"

Jack mentally high-fived himself. Bruno's brother was taking the bait like a sucker. There was an entire minute of silence in which Jack could practically hear Bruno's brother's brain get an erection. Then he said, "All right. All right, you get me a date with Placido, and I'll tell you where Bruno is."

"Deal!" Jack agreed, and they shook on it. Now the only problem was getting Placido to actually go through with it.

* * *

 

' _Yusei, this is my cousin Jack. Jack, Yusei.'_

' _Hi,' Yusei greeted his best friend's cousin. He was a little intimidated by the rich boy get-up._

' _Oh, Kiryu didn't tell me he had such a cute friend~' Jack flirted with him, causing Yusei to blush._

' _Jack, don't hit on my friend! Do you know how creepy that is? Plus, you have a girlfriend!'_

' _I know, I know. But I can't help it.'_

' _Sorry about that,' Kiryu whispered to Yusei. 'He's very open about being bi and he flirts to see who reacts.'_

_Yusei was flustered. Kiryu's cousin was bi. So that meant maybe Kiryu could be too? The hopes he'd been trying to quash rose hopefully once again._

' _Hey, you're bi too!' Jack quipped, and Yusei's heart soared like a rocket blasting off to space. 'Bipolar!'_

' _Jack!' Kiryu hissed, and he stomped on Jack's foot. Yusei thought that must be some kind of joke, but when he saw how pale Kiryu's face had gotten, he realized it wasn't._

* * *

 

"I knew you'd come crawling back."

Jack gritted his teeth. He'd have to put up with this to get what he wanted.

"Listen, Placido," he started, "I need you to do me a  _huge_  favor."

"Oh? And what's in it for me?" Jack could practically  _smell_  the smugness in Placido's voice.

"I don't know. Look, I'll… send you a picture of my junk or something."

Placido laughed.

"No no no. I don't want a picture. You, me, bed, tonight after the party."

Jack bit his lip.

"Well, the thing is… I need you to go on a date with this guy."

"You're joking, right?"

Jack sighed. This was not going to be as easy as manipulating Bruno's brother.

"Look, he thinks you're hot and I said you'd go on a date with him if he got me a part in a movie his father is directing. Please, I'll  _really_  owe you one if you do this for me."

Placido took a moment to consider this.

"I just have to pretend to like him for a day, and that's all?"

"Yes," Jack assured him. "Once I get the part, I have the part. This would  _really_  help me out, Placido.  _Please~?_ " He used his most flirtatious begging voice.

Placido took another minute to think things over.

"Fine. I'll let him be my date at the party tonight. IF-" Placido added, before Jack could celebrate. "IF I do this, you have to let me come on this road trip you and your cousin are doing."

"How do you even know about that?"

"I hear things. So, what's it gonna be?"

"Okay, fine, you can come. If I get the acting job, you can dump him and come along with us."

"Then it's a date."

Jack hung up. Placido was the most frustrating man in the world. But as long as he got Bruno back he didn't care. Placido wasn't going to ruin this for him.

* * *

 

' _You never told me you were bipolar,' Yusei said quietly. Kiryu scuffed the ground with his sneaker._

' _Yeah, well… it's not really something I like to brag about,' he replied darkly._

' _We've been best friends for a year and you were keeping this a secret from me?' Yusei felt a little hurt. He would never keep such a secret from Kiryu. Well, apart from having a giant crush on him._

' _I… didn't think you'd like me if you knew….' Kiryu's cheeks burned scarlet._

' _Of course I still like you!' Yusei said without hesitation. 'You're my best friend! Nothing will change that.'_

_Kiryu smiled at him._

' _Thanks, Yusei,' he said, 'You're a really good friend.'_

* * *

 

Kiryu and Yusei were silently eating pizza in a booth at a pizza place when Yusei's phone rang.

"It's Aki…" Yusei said. "She never calls me. I hope she's okay." Kiryu gave him a concerned look as he answered the phone.

"Hello?"

There were only sobs on the other line.

"Aki? Hey, are you okay?" Yusei asked urgently. Kiryu watched him with alarm.

"Y-Yusei…!" she sniffed, trying to get herself together.

"What is it, Aki? What's wrong?"

There were a few more sobs before Aki finally said, "I'm p-pregnant, and Divine's gonna kill me. What do I do, Yusei?" She broke down into more heavy sobs. The color drained from Yusei's face.

"You're… but…!"

"When he finds out he's going to kill me! He's gonna make me abort the baby! I don't want to give it up, Yusei… It's my baby… It's alive, inside of me. Help me, please! I'm so scared, I don't know what to do…!"

Yusei was speechless. This was a giant shock, and in all honesty he didn't know what she should do.

"Leave him," he found himself saying. "If he's going to make you get rid of it, leave him. It's your body and he can't force you to do anything."

"How can I leave him? I love him…! I have no where else to go…! He's the father…!"

Yusei got up to finish the phone call outside. He motioned at Kiryu to stay at the table. It really wasn't a good idea to leave Kiryu alone, but he seemed pretty calm today and Yusei didn't want him interrupting.

"Aki, don't tell Divine."

"What?"

"Don't tell him you're pregnant. Secretly pack a getaway bag and hide it. We're going to come get you."

"What? But where will I go?"

"We'll worry about that later. You can't stay there, you're in danger, you and the baby. We're going to come rescue you."

There was more crying on Aki's end, and then she said, "T-Thank you, Yusei. You're the best friend… I ever had…"

"Call me back next time you can and we'll talk more plans. I'll talk it over with Kiryu and Jack, but I'm sure they won't mind. And if worse comes to worse, Jack and Kiryu can take Divine. Especially if I convince Kiryu that Divine is quote unquote, 'one of them.'"

"Thank you, Yusei. Thank you." She hung up.

Yusei went back inside the pizza parlor. Kiryu was still eating anxiously. He looked up when Yusei sat back down.

"We're going on a rescue mission," Yusei told him.

"All right!" Crow cheered. "Team Satisfaction, go!"

* * *

 

_It wasn't that Kiryu changed- Yusei was just now more aware of Kiryu's behavior. How had he never noticed before? One minute Kiryu would scream curses at classmates walking too slowly in the hall, even shove people out of his way, and then he would hold the door open for the incoming class and greet everyone with a smile. He was easily distracted and usually talkative; Yusei had just thought he was a passionate person. But upon learning about Kiryu's illness, he did some research and these were all signs of bipolar disorder. What Yusei had thought was confidence was really Kiryu believing he was smarter and more popular than anyone else, and he really wasn't. Sometimes he was very driven with his school work, but he could easily forget all about it and focus on a video game. His grades were all over the place. And Yusei wondered when his friend slept, considering he got texts from him at all times of the day. Yusei was starting to wonder if Kiryu needed help. Was he on medication? If he was, he shouldn't have been acting like this._

_One day, Yusei finally worked up the courage to bring up the issue._

' _Kiryu,' he said, sitting on his bed. 'I need to ask you something. Promise not to get mad?' He knew Kiryu didn't like to talk about this stuff._

_Kiryu raised an eyebrow._

' _What's up?' he replied._

' _Do you, uh…. Do you take medication?'_

' _For what?'_

' _For… you know.'_

_Kiryu still looked blank, so Yusei sighed and said, 'For your disorder.'_

_Immediately he regretted saying anything because a dark look swept over his friend's face._

' _Are you saying there's something wrong with me?'_

' _N-No! I just… wanted to know, if you took medication. That's all.'_

_Kiryu glared at him, making Yusei uncomfortable, but then he kicked the leg of his bed and muttered, 'Well, I did at first, but not anymore.'_

' _Is there a reason why?' Yusei asked._

' _Because I hated how it made me feel. I felt… well, drugged,' Kiryu put it blatantly. 'I managed to convince Pops that I didn't need therapy anymore. I don't like doctors.'_

_Yusei frowned._

' _Well, if you think you're okay…' he replied uneasily._

' _There's nothing wrong with me!' Kiryu snapped, and that put an end to the conversation._

* * *

 

At half past four, Jack and Antinomy showed up at Placido's lavish front gate, both in formal attire. Jack had had to quickly buy the two tuxes, but that was no problem with his kind of wealth.

"Alright. I'm getting you this date, and then you tell me where Bruno is, got it?" Jack whispered to him as they approached the estate.

"Yes, yes," Bruno's brother agreed.

They were let in and greeted by Placido himself.

"Jack, good of you to make it," he greeted, somewhat coolly. "And uh… who's this?"

"This is Antinomy," Jack introduced him. "He's a skilled mechanic and very fond of your work."

"Pleasure," Placido replied dryly, extending his hand. Antinomy kissed it, causing Placido to wince with disgust. Jack gave him a look and he quickly pretended to be interested.

"Why don't you come with me and I'll show you around? Or Jack could, since he already knows the place so well." Placido smirked mischievously.

Jack gave him another hard look, but then said, "One moment. A quick word, Antinomy."

He pulled him aside.

"Alright, where's Bruno?" he whispered.

"We live at 2121 Dark Glass Lane. It's the next town over."

"Thanks!"

Jack turned to leave but Antinomy grabbed his arm.

"One more thing," he said. "If you hurt my brother again, I'll break your face." He let Jack go.

* * *

 

' _Alright, sixty pages. We can do this!' Yusei cracked his back in preparation._

_Kiryu stared at the pages of the book they were required to read for their English homework. The letters popped off the page and danced around, making it impossible for Kiryu to read them. He looked over, and Yusei's book was doing to the same thing, yet he seemed to have no problem reading it._

' _Will you read it to me?' Kiryu huffed, sitting back on his bed._

' _Read to you? What are you, six years old?'_

' _I just can't sit here and read sixty fucking pages all in a row, ugh!'_

' _Alright, alright.'_

_Even with Yusei reading to him, he still couldn't concentrate. Every so often a rushing sound would fill the room and drown out Yusei's voice. It didn't seem to bother him so Kiryu didn't mention it. He didn't like being so different. Why could Yusei deal with these things and he couldn't? He'd just have to suck it up._

_The next day Kiryu was stumped on the pop quiz. He was sure he and Yusei had discussed these things after reading last night. The theme… what the two different eye colors symbolized… Kiryu scratched his head. He peered around in search of help._

_His neighbor to the left of him scratched his nose. That meant the theme was childhood trauma. Kiryu scribbled it down._

_His neighbor to the right had red in her shoes. That meant the eye colors symbolized political struggle. Kiryu scribbled that down, too. He spent the remainder of the quiz period interpreting the signs around him to answer the questions. Feeling confident with his answers, he brought up his paper when he finished and smugly turned it in to his teacher. A few minutes later his teacher asked to see him in the hall._

_Curious, Kiryu got up and followed his teacher out of the room. The teacher closed the door behind them._

' _Care to explain this?' his teacher asked, holding up his quiz._

' _What's wrong with it?' Kiryu asked with genuine concern._

' _Mr. Kyosuke, you are in the top level class of your grade. This is unacceptable. Take this class seriously or you will be kicked out! Everyone else does their readings and you are expected to do the same! If you didn't want to do the work you shouldn't have signed up for this class! Now, I expect better from you tomorrow!'_

_Kiryu was speechless. He thought for sure his answers had been right! The only explanation was that Yusei had told his teacher that he hadn't actually read the pages himself, that he had to have Yusei read it to him! When Kiryu reentered the room Yusei gave him a concerned look, and Kiryu shot back the dirtiest look he could muster._

' _Traitor…!' he hissed at him as he took his seat. Yusei was very confused._

* * *

 

"Where is Jack going?" Placido asked as Antinomy approached him and he saw Jack leaving.

"He said he had some urgent business to take care of," Antinomy replied. "You said you were going to show me around?"

"Yes, yes… I suppose…" Placido said, disappointed. He had wanted Jack to stay. He'd make him pay for that later.

Meanwhile, still in his tux, Jack drove all the way to the next town to the address Antinomy had given him. The sun was starting to set, and it seemed to be just the right mood to win back a lover. Jack pulled out a guitar that he had bought today (he was rich, so why not?) and snuck into the backyard. Now he just had to hope Bruno was home, and that he knocked on the right window.

The sun kept setting as Jack watched for a sign of where Bruno was. Finally, just as the last light dipped beneath the horizon, he saw something blue streak in front of a window on the second story. Jack grabbed a decent-sized pebble and aimed.

The first few times he missed, but after a few more tries he got the window. It made a clinking noise on the window, and Jack readied his guitar.

A confused-looking Bruno appeared in the window, looking around for the source of the noise. Jack strummed his guitar, and Bruno heard. He looked down and his eyes widened as he saw something he never expected.

" **Still is the life**

**Of your room**

**When you're not inside**

**And all of your things**

**Tell the sweetest story line**

**Your tears on these sheets**

**And your footsteps are down the hall**

**Tell me what I did**

**I can't find where the moment went wrong at all…** " Jack sang.

* * *

 

_'Kiryu, please! Talk to me!'_

' _I have nothing to say to you, you filthy traitor!'_

_Kiryu slammed his locker shut and stormed off, leaving behind a hurt Yusei. But Yusei didn't give up. Maybe Kiryu was just in a mood. So at lunch Yusei confronted his friend again._

' _Kiryu, come on. Just tell me what's wrong!'_

' _What's wrong is that I thought I could trust you!' Kiryu snapped._

' _What are you talking about?'_

' _You know what I'm talking about!" Kiryu hissed. 'You told our teacher that you had to read the book out loud to me, and he failed my quiz!'_

_Yusei looked completely shocked._

' _I didn't talk to the teacher at all," he said. "Is that what the teacher said to you?'_

' _He failed me and said I needed to start doing the work like everyone else, so hell if you didn't-!'_

' _Calm down, please!' Yusei urged. People were starting to look at them. 'Kiryu, show me your quiz. Let's compare answers. If we have the same answers and he failed you but not me we can take the issue up with the principal. Doesn't that sound reasonable?'_

_Kiryu glared at him, but Yusei's logic was calming._

' _Fine. Here.' Kiryu ripped the paper from his folder and slapped it on the table as Yusei quickly took his own out. He put his quiz next to Kiryu's and they compared answers._

' _Kiryu,' Yusei said in alarm, 'None of your answers are right, or even close! Did you pay attention at all last night?'_

_Kiryu snatched his paper from the table and yelled, 'You think you can trick me?! That's not the same quiz you turned in! He gave you a fake one so it would look like all my answers were wrong!'_

' _What? Do you hear yourself?' Yusei snorted. 'Kiryu, come on, you can't really believe-'_

' _My answers are right! I know they are! Fuck you!' Kiryu grabbed Yusei's messenger bag and threw it across the cafeteria. Yusei blinked at him in confusion. Was Kiryu just in a really bad mood, or did he really believe this?_

_One of the cafeteria aides came over and told Kiryu to go to the office with her. He 'humph!'ed at Yusei and gave him another dirty look before storming out of the cafeteria. Ignoring the whole silent cafeteria staring at him, Yusei got up and retrieved his bag. He was shaking, startled by Kiryu's outburst, but also, something just didn't feel right about this. He wondered if he should go talk to their teacher. Then he realized that Kiryu was probably getting detention or something for throwing his bag, so he thought he should explain that this was all just a misunderstanding. He decided to head down to the office to explain the situation._

_When he got there, Kiryu was yelling furiously at the staff, 'Everyone is trying to make look l'm stupid, like I don't know what I'm talking about! All of this is a cover-up! You can't fool me!' He turned and saw Yusei._

' _And_ you _, Yusei! I can't believe you're working with them! You're the biggest backstabber I ever-!'_

' _Kiryu…' Yusei said, tears forming in his eyes. He was trying to stay calm. 'Kiryu, I know you're angry but you need to calm down. I know you think we're all conspiring against you but we're not… And I think you need help.'_

' _Yeah, I need help getting away from all of you!' Kiryu snapped. 'How is this even allowed?! This is injustice!'_

' _Kiryu, listen to yourself! Doesn't that sound a little… crazy?'_

_Kiryu's eyes widened and he fell silent._

' _Are you doing this to make me sound crazy?' he hissed. 'That's what this is, isn't it? You all are trying to make me think I'm crazy! Well, I'm not! I know the truth!'_

' _That's what crazy people say,' a staff member snorted unprofessionally._

' _I'm not crazy!' Kiryu screamed._

' _But you_ are _bipolar,' Yusei said rationally. 'Have you been taking your medication?'_

_Kiryu still looked angry, but Yusei could see the guilt in his face._

' _You haven't, have you?'_

' _That's a ploy too, isn't it?!' Kiryu realized. 'You're slapping on a title so that I think I'm going nuts!'_

' _Kiryu, what reason would we have for doing that?' Yusei asked, his voice breaking._

' _I don't know! I'm not you!' Kiryu snapped._

' _Please, Kiryu… I really think you need to see someone. You're my best friend and I'd never lead you wrong. You know that.' Yusei sniffed, putting his hand over his mouth. He couldn't stop himself from crying. He was terrified._

' _Yusei?'_

_Something about Yusei crying alarmed Kiryu, and the thought that Yusei wouldn't be crying unless something was seriously wrong entered his brain. Yusei had never led him wrong. Yusei, who was two years younger but two years smarter than him._

' _Hey… Don't cry, okay, Yusei?' Kiryu's mood changed dramatically. 'If you think I need help… then… I trust you…' He hugged his tearful friend. 'Don't cry, okay?'_

' _I'll get the nurse…' Another staff member spoke awkwardly, glancing at her coworkers, who shrugged._

* * *

 

Before Jack got half way through the song, Bruno had run downstairs and opened the back door. He approached Jack but he didn't look happy. Jack stopped singing once he was right in front of him, arms crossed.

"You have a lot of nerve to show up here," Bruno said coolly. "How'd you even find out where I live?"

"I ran into your brother at his auto-mechanic shop," Jack told him. "Look, Bruno… I'm so sorry."

"Sorry?!" Bruno snorted. "You stole me from someone I actually liked, fucked me, then dumped me the next day! Sorry doesn't cut it!"

"That's why I came here to serenade you."

"It's going to take a lot more than singing a stupid love song at me for me to forgive you."

"I don't want forgiveness. I want to take back what I did," Jack told him. "I really thought I wouldn't be ready for another commitment so soon after getting out of a very serious relationship, but then I couldn't stop thinking about you, and-"

"That still doesn't really make me feel better," Bruno replied coldly. "You really hurt me, Jack."

Jack got down on one knee and took Bruno's hand.

"Then let me make it up to you," he pleaded. "Come with me, and I'll win you back over and over."

"I don't think so," Bruno said, pulling his hand away.

"I'll stand out here all night if I have to," Jack told him.

"Don't bother," Bruno scoffed. "Please, just go away. You've done enough damage already."

"No, I'm undoing the damage!" Jack pleaded. "Please, give me another chance! Everyone deserves second chances, right?"

"Funny, what do you think Yusei would say if  _I_  asked for a second chance?" Bruno snorted coldly.

It was slowly becoming clear to Jack that his natural charm and smoothness would not work. He was really going to have to fight for this guy.

"I don't want you to be with Yusei," Jack said firmly. "I want you to be with me!"

"Do you even like anything about me besides my appearance?" Bruno demanded.

"You're sweet," Jack replied. "And smart. And caring. And kind. And bashful-"

"So is Yusei. And that's why I liked him. He was smart and we understood each other. You were a dick. You laughed at us when we fell in the pool, snapped at us when we wanted to make things right with Kiryu, and then you seduced me from a guy I actually liked."

"Hey, some of that is your fault too!" Jack snapped, forgetting that he was trying to win Bruno back. "You and Yusei really upset Kiryu, and you don't even know how Kiryu acts! He has a mental illness and I know his moods and how to treat them! And also, don't forget that you chose me over Yusei in the end because you wanted sex!"

Bruno's cheeks turned red.

"Well..! Okay, I can't deny that. I'm not used to Kiryu so I don't know how to treat him. I don't even know what I did to upset him. And yes, I have a rather… healthy sex drive that causes me to make bad decisions apparently-"

"It wasn't a bad decision!" Jack threw his guitar to the ground and grabbed Bruno's hands. "It was meant to happen! You belong with me!"

"You think this was fate?" Bruno said, trying to pull his hands away. "It was a mistake!"

"I will treat you a hundred times better than Yusei would!"

"And treating me better was ripping my heart out and dumping me?!"

"Forget about that!" Jack was practically shouting at him. "I can offer you things Yusei never could!"

Bruno glared at him, still unable to get free from him.

"I'm listening," he hissed, inviting Jack to elaborate.

"I can satisfy you in the bedroom like no one else can! I'm experienced. I'm tough. I'll protect you. I'm not good with mechanics which means I'll appreciate how much you are. Sometimes I get a little hotheaded, and only someone like you can cool me down and keep me levelheaded. Keep me in check. And I'll spend every day trying to make you fall in love with me more than what you felt about Yusei, or anyone else. Please…. take me back…?"

Bruno considered these facts while still giving Jack a dirty look.

"Why did you dump me and  _then_  decide you wanted me?" Bruno asked.

"You don't realize what you have till you don't have it anymore," Jack said simply.

Bruno let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine," he said, and Jack actually took a step back in surprise.

"Really?!"

"Yeah, I'll come with you," Bruno said, "but you have a  _lot_  of making up to do."

"I will! I'll make it all up, every second!" Jack let Bruno go, putting his arms around him and kissing his face repeatedly.

"Alright!  _Alright!_ " Bruno laughed. "You got me. Now you have to help me pack."

In one swift movement Jack swept Bruno off his feet and held him bridal style.

"Clothes are optional," he said, and Bruno gave him a playful slap.

"You're the one who won't be needing clothes," Bruno teased.

* * *

 

_After the medication increase and Kiryu's return to therapy, he seemed to get a lot better. Yusei still had to help him with reading and school work, but for the most part Kiryu did really well when he focused. Then, out of nowhere, he just stopped showing up to classes. They had third period, fifth period, seventh period lunch, and eighth period together. Kiryu would miss a period here and there, and when Yusei consulted him he just shrugged and said, 'I skipped,' with no other explanation. Yusei was starting to suspect he was doing drugs or something, and wondered if he should call Kiryu's father._

_Then one lonely lunch period a fellow classmate came up to Yusei and said, 'Hey, you're friends with Kiryu, right?'_

' _Yeah,' Yusei replied. 'Why? Do you need him?'_

' _He's in the bathroom crying and won't come out,' the boy told him. 'I wasn't sure who to tell.'_

' _Which bathroom?!'_

_After being told which bathroom, Yusei ran out of the cafeteria and went to find him. Just as his classmate had said, when he opened the door he heard someone sobbing softly in one of the stalls._

' _Kiryu?'_

_The sobbing stopped._

' _Y-Yusei?'_

_Yusei heard the stall lock slide open and Kiryu emerged, looking dreadful and as though he hadn't slept in months._

' _What's wrong? What happened?' Yusei demanded._

' _No one wants me around. They all hate me,' he sobbed, sliding to the floor._

' _What? What gives you that idea?'_

' _Oh, like you don't know!' Kiryu snapped._

' _But… I_ don't _know…' Yusei replied blankly._

' _Oh, come on. Everyone acts like they don't hear it just so they don't have to admit it was their thoughts being said,' Kiryu snarled. 'But we all know. I know. I've heard everyone's thoughts.'_

_Yusei was almost speechless._

' _You… You know you're not_ actually _hearing other people's thoughts… right?'_

' _But I am,' Kiryu insisted, still crying. 'Why are you trying to cover this up? Whose side are you on?!'_

' _I'm always on your side, Kiryu.'_

' _Then why won't you admit that everyone can hear the thoughts?!' Kiryu demanded._

' _Because… no one else hears thoughts…' Yusei said, trying to keep his voice steady. Oh, this was bad. This was very, very bad. He tried to keep the panic out of his voice when he asked his next question._

' _Kiryu… are you hearing voices?'_

' _Of course I'm hearing voices!' Kiryu snapped. "All my senses work fine!"_

' _No, I mean like… in your head.'_

' _I… wh…. doesn't everyone?' Kiryu was starting to sound scared. Yusei shook his head, trying so hard to keep the fear out of his eyes._

_Kiryu stared blankly at him for a good couple seconds._

' _Am I… going crazy?'_

_Yusei's heart was racing. He walked over and helped Kiryu up._

' _Come on,' he said. 'We're going to the nurse.'_

' _No,' Kiryu sniffed, moving away from Yusei. 'I'm done. I don't want to do this anymore.'_

' _What do you mean 'you're done'?'_

' _I mean I'm_ done _. I can't take this anymore. I want it to end.'_

' _Kiryu, you're scaring me.'_

' _I don't want to go crazy. If I really am losing my mind, I want to go out now instead of later.'_

' _Don't say that!' Yusei burst into tears. 'Come on, Kiryu, come to the nurse with me, please! We'll get you help!'_

' _I'm scared…' Kiryu's voice sounded small and afraid. Yusei hugged him and took his arm._

' _You won't be alone. I'll be right here by your side, I promise,' Yusei told him._

' _Thank you, Yusei,' Kiryu sniffed._

* * *

 

Placido  _hated_  everything about this Antinomy guy. He was treating Placido like he was some sort of prince or something. Which was how he  _liked_  to be treated- by everyone else,  _not_  by a partner. That was why he really liked Jack. Jack didn't treat him like a fairy princess. Jack  _dominated_  him. He was an alpha male. He dictated the decisions. This guy was letting himself be walked all over.

"And then, at the last moment, I-"

"Look," Placido interrupted him, unable to stomach this any longer. "I'm not going to beat around the bush here."

Antinomy looked surprised. "Really? Already? Alright, where do you wanna do it at?" He flashed a seductive grin at him that made Placido want to vomit.

"How about nowhere?" Placido suggested, and Antinomy looked confused.

"Look, how do I say this…" Placido said thoughtfully. "I don't like you. At all. There's no chemistry, you're a pushover, yadda yadda yadda, please vacate yourself from my presence. Goodbye." Placido turned and didn't even look back.

"Woah woah  _woah_ ," Antinomy said, marching back over to him. "What are you talking about, 'no chemistry?' Jack said you-"

"You're even dumber than you are tedious," Placido snorted. "Jack lied to you, you idiot. He asked me to do this until he got the job from you. That's show business."

"What job?" Antinomy demanded.

"The acting job, you dolt!"

"What acting job? Jack said he'd introduce us if I told him where my brother was, since he dumped him and then wanted to get back together with him."

"What?!" Placido seethed. "That little fucker…! He played both of us!"

Antinomy felt embarrassed, almost humiliated, but he didn't let it show.

"Then we'll just have to upstage him, won't we?"

Placido considered this.

"Maybe you're not as dumb as I thought. Alright, let's make a plan. Jack promised me a spot in his little road trip he's taking with his cousin, which I assume is where he's attempting to coax your brother into going. How about we pretend to be a couple and go along, and then ruin him?"

"I don't want to do anything that hurts my brother," Antinomy said. "But I do want to get him back. He forgot to mention how much of an asswipe you are."

"Good, then we're on the same page. Let's go."

"Wait, what about the rest of your gala?"

"Oh, it's tradition for me to sneak off anyway," Placido dismissed him. "I just need to grab a bag of things. And you're helping!"

"Carry your own shit," Antinomy snapped. "If you're not gonna go out with me I'm not going to treat you like a gentleman."

"Rude," Placido pouted, but in truth he liked this way of thinking.  _If you treated me this way while courting me we wouldn't have this problem_ , he thought.

* * *

 

" _Doing anything on Saturday?" Yusei asked as they walked home from school._

" _Yeah. I'm going to Satellite to meet up with Crow."_

_Yusei raised an eyebrow._

" _What? Where's Satellite?"_

" _Come on. You're joking, right?"_

" _Are you joking?"_

" _I can't believe you've never heard of Satellite! Everyone talks about it!"_

_Yusei's cheeks burned. This must be some online thing he'd never heard of. Maybe it was one of those MMOs like World of Warcraft._

" _Alright, fine. You're busy Saturday. What about tonight?"_

" _Nothing going on tonight! What did you have in mind?"_

* * *

 

"So, tell me again why you think Aki is in danger?" Kiryu asked as they walked back to their condo.

"Okay, so you know how I told you that Aki got kicked out of her house for converting to Wiccan?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, she started dating this guy, Divine, who belonged to her coven. And she moved in with him and he's a huge control freak. He made her cut off all contact with anyone else, though she still talks to me behind his back."

"Why is she even still with this guy?"

"She claims she loves him, and she has nowhere else to go."

"If she loves him, what makes you think she'll leave him, even if she's pregnant and afraid for the baby?"

Yusei couldn't answer that.

"Well, we have to try. She doesn't realize it but she  _needs_  saving from him. So we have to go."

"I'm not objecting, I'm just saying I don't think this is going to be as easy as you think it is."

Yusei put his hands in his pockets and frowned.

"Well… I'll talk it over with Jack too. But this is something I  _have_  to do. You understand, right? She was my best friend until I moved and met you. We have a history. She was the first person I came out to. She's like a sister to me."

"I totally get it," Kiryu agreed. "If Jack was in trouble, I'd go save him."

Yusei nodded, even though the pit of his stomach burned. Oh sure, if  _Jacky-poo_ was in trouble… But he couldn't think about that now. Aki was his best friend and she needed him.

"Alright, we'll go back and make a plan, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

 

' _Kiryu? Kiryu, whose blood is that?'_

_Yusei was terrified. It was raining and Kiryu had just… run off. And now they were in an alley and Kiryu was smiling and there was blood all over his clothes and face and staining a small blade clutched in his hand._

' _Satellite will be ours,' Kiryu told him in a dreamy voice. 'All we have to do is crush Security. I got one already.'_

_Yusei took a step back._

' _Kiryu, please, come with me,' Yusei sobbed, trying his best to stay calm. 'I know you think you're okay but… I really think you need help. Please.'_

' _What do you mean 'come with you'? Are you one of them, Yusei?! Are you selling me out?!'_

_Yusei only had a split second to decide to flee._

' _Kiryu, stop!' Yusei sobbed, jumping back as the blade sliced through the air. He flew down the alley, crying and screaming for help as Kiryu chased him, yelling insults and calling him a traitor._

* * *

 

After Jack and Bruno had makeup sex, Jack helped Bruno pack for the road trip. For someone who was still really mad, Bruno was still a little weak-kneed and giddy at Jack. It was just how he was. Neither of them were expecting Antinomy and Placido to be downstairs when they went down to leave.

"Forgetting something?" Placido smiled nastily at Jack.

"I… uh…" Jack wasn't sure what to say. Shit, he was caught! His brain worked fast to think up excuses that would still allow him to make good with Bruno.

"Relax, Jacky-boy. We know you did what you had to do. We're not mad."

"You're… not?"

Placido shook his head.

"But we  _do_  want to come with you on this road trip," he added.

"Are you coming too, Ant?" Bruno asked, and Jack noted the happiness in his voice.

"Yep. Jack introduced me to Placido here and we really hit it off," Antinomy replied, putting his arm around his supposed lover. He gave Placido's ass a squeeze and Placido stomped on his foot with his heeled boots, still faking his smile.

"Well, that's… surprising," Jack said with suspicion. "But whatever. If we take Bruno's truck, we'll have enough room. My cousin's friend isn't very happy with me right now anyway, so riding with them wouldn't be a good idea."

"Great, I'll just go pack!" Antinomy said. "Come on, boots!" He dragged a reluctant Placido up the stairs.

* * *

 

_This was all so surreal. Yusei never thought he'd step foot in a mental hospital. But this was where they'd sent Kiryu and here he was with Kiryu's adopted dad, talking to the doctor who had observed Kiryu since the incident in the alley._

_How could it be that just the other day he and Kiryu were sitting on Yusei's bed discussing the concept of the book they had to read in their English class, and now Kiryu was sitting on a white bed in a white straitjacket and glaring at them all with hatred and disgust?_

' _You're all traitors,' he snarled viciously. 'Traitors. Especially you, Yusei. I'm gonna kill you, you piece of shit.'_

_Every word sliced at Yusei, just like the knife that night. There was no way Kiryu could really mean that. Last week they had shared a funnel cake together at the amusement park. This wasn't Kiryu. This wasn't the same person who carried his books to class Monday because Yusei was feeling tired._

" _Kiryu has been suffering some… intense, and rather violent delusions,' the doctor told them grimly. 'He believes he's in a gang in a place called 'Satellite' and that the officers of the law in that place are trying to control him.'_

' _Satellite?' Yusei said with interest, and the doctor and Rudger looked at him._

' _Has he mentioned this place before?' the doctor asked, and Yusei nodded guiltily._

' _He… Well, he said he had this friend named Crow from Satellite. I assumed it was an online thing.'_

_The doctor grimaced at this knowledge._

' _It is my observation that Kiryu is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia,' the doctor finally revealed. 'Unfortunately, we don't have records on Kiryu's birth parents so I can't confirm records of mental illness in his bloodline.'_

_Yusei tried very hard to keep his composure, but the anxiety proved too much. He dashed to the trash can just in time to throw up. Rudger didn't seem to notice._

' _So… what does this mean for my son?' he asked in a shaky voice._

' _Well, he'll need medication. He's already in trouble with the law and pleaded insanity so he has to stay here until he's deemed not a threat. With the right medication his delusions should become manageable. But… I'm afraid he'll never live a normal life…'_

' _Yes, he will!' Yusei snapped, and the two adults looked around at him. 'He can be normal! He_ is _normal! I won't let him… won't let him…' He was unable to finish his sentence. He couldn't keep himself from crying._

' _You're a good kid, Yusei,' Rudger told him, walking over and patting his back. 'You've stuck by Kiryu this far. You're the only one. But I can't ask you to take care of him. You have your own life to live.'_

' _Kiryu's my best friend!' Yusei snapped. 'I won't leave him.'_

' _Yusei, he came at you with a knife! If he kills you your death will be on my hands. I can't put your family through that…!'_

' _I don't care. He can kill me if he wants. I'll stick by him forever. I promise.'_

_Kiryu, who had been quiet this whole time, suddenly burst into insane laughter._

' _You all think I'm insane but_ you're _the insane ones!' he shrieked. Yusei looked over at him. He didn't care if Kiryu was his stupid high school crush. He knew their bond was forever. Through sickness and health. Wait, that was marriage, wasn't it? Whatever. He was going to marry Kiryu, so this was just a pregame, a preview of the real thing. A pre-marriage test._

_Yusei walked over to Kiryu, who stopped laughing and glared at him._

' _Even if you think you hate me, I won't leave you,' Yusei promised. 'You're my best friend.'_

' _Some best friend you are,' Kiryu snorted. 'Traitor.'_

* * *

 

Kiryu and Yusei were discussing what they should do about Aki's situation when there was a knock on their door. Yusei got up to answer. When he opened the door, there were four people, including Jack.

"What the hell is this?" Yusei asked as everyone came inside. He and Bruno made eye contact for a split second before looking away.

"Our party got a little bigger," Jack said casually. "And look, I found Bruno!" He held up Bruno's hand in his. Bruno blushed.

"I can see that," Yusei growled, and Bruno hid a little behind Jack with shame.

"Well, our party is about to get even bigger," Yusei announced. "We're going on a rescue mission to save my friend Aki from her controlling boyfriend."

"Aki? That girl you used to be friends with?" Jack asked.

"We're still friends. Just her boyfriend made her stop talking to me, so she's pretending we're not friends anymore. But she called me earlier crying and saying that she was scared because she's pregnant and afraid the baby's life is in danger thanks to him."

"That's awful," Antinomy said, bringing Yusei's attention to him.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Yusei asked, a little impolitely.

"I'm Antinomy, Bruno's twin brother," he introduced himself. "And this is my boyfriend, Placido." Placido didn't look too happy to be there.

"Wait… you're not  _Jack's_  Placido, are you?" Kiryu asked.

"How many other Placidos do you know?" Jack snapped. "Anyway, that's not important. Yusei, we-"

"Hold on, hold on," Antinomy and Bruno both said at the same time. They looked at each other, and then Antinomy went on, "What's this about Placido belonging to Jack…?"

Bruno folded his arms and glared at Jack for an explanation. There was no running from this.

"Alright, alright. Placido and I went out once," Jack admitted, and Antinomy raised an eyebrow at him. "But I dumped him because he was… well, I won't get into it."

"No, I want to hear this," Antinomy said with gloating interest. "Do tell."

"He dumped me because he couldn't handle my raw, sexual energy," Placido said coolly, examining his freshly manicured nails. Bruno gave Jack a look, demanding an explanation.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I didn't want to degrade myself for your sexual pleasure," Jack snorted. "Have fun with that one, Antinomy."

Antinomy raised an eyebrow at Placido, but Placido wouldn't look at him.

"This is not a conversation I want to be having right now," Yusei interrupted. "Can we focus on the real issue here, hm? Aki."

"Yes. So how are we going to rescue someone who probably doesn't want to be rescued?" Kiryu put in.

"We leave tomorrow morning. So think of things until then," Yusei said. "I'm going to look up cheap places to stay nearby."

"I'll take care of the expenses," Jack put in.

"Uh, no you won't," Yusei snapped.

"Uh, yes I will," Jack snapped back. "Look, Yusei, I-"

"I don't want an apology, alright? Just… fine, do whatever you want! I need to start thinking about what to do!" Yusei stormed off. Jack looked at Kiryu, who shrugged.

"This may be more trouble than I first suspected," Placido sighed.

* * *

 

' _They say one day I'll have to live in an institution,' Kiryu told him, unpacking his clothes. After an entire month, he was finally discharged from the hospital, and this was his first day back. Yusei had come over immediately to see him._

" _No. I won't let that happen," Yusei told him firmly, but Kiryu just snorted._

" _I know what happens to people like me. One day I'll lose it completely and that will be that. The end."_

" _Kiryu, don't say that!" Yusei stomped his foot._

" _Stop living in some fantasy land where everything's okay!" Kiryu snapped. "I came at you with a_ knife _, Yusei. I was actually going to kill you dead. I stabbed someone in an alley, and thank god_ they _didn't die! Guys like me_ deserve _to be locked up forever! If I had my way I'd still be in the hospital. I should be kept away from other people-!"_

_Yusei burst into tears, causing Kiryu to sigh._

" _You're such a baby, Yusei. Stop crying."_

_Yusei clung to him, holding him tight._

" _You're my best fr-friend, Kiryu. I won't… won't let them t-take you away…! I p-promise…!"_

_Kiryu hugged him back._

" _Thanks for not quitting on me, like everyone else," he told him. "You're a true friend. And I'm sorry if I ever hurt you."_

* * *

 

"Yusei, can I talk to you?"

Yusei looked up at Kiryu and sighed.

"Yeah, I suppose."

Kiryu sat down.

"I think what you're dong is great," he told him. "But… are you sure you're not obsessing over this to escape from what happened between us?"

"What?! How can you say that?!" Yusei snapped. "Aki is my friend and she needs me! This has nothing to do with you!"

"Alright, alright, calm down!" Kiryu pleaded. "I was just making sure-"

"Yeah, well, I don't need you to make sure," Yusei spat. "I'm fine."

Yusei's eyes wouldn't meet Kiryu's. Kiryu frowned, but then got up.

"Goodnight then, Yusei."

Before he could stop himself, he leaned over and kissed Yusei's cheek. Then he left, leaving Yusei to look shocked at the doorway, touching his cheek where Kiryu's lips had touched him.


	7. Bad Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Placido is a very complicated man, Antinomy realizes. A part of Yusei's past Kiryu never knew bubbles up.

_**TRIGGER WARNINGS: sexual abuse, self harm, gender identity, and possibly other things. (I am going to start tw-ing from now on because I kept forgetting and some of this can get very triggery and I don't want to upset anyone so just be warned, okay?)** _

**7: Bad Romance**

Antinomy and Placido looked at the single queen-sized bed they were given to sleep on.

"We are  _not_  sharing a bed," Placido said blatantly.

"Okay," Antinomy agreed. "Have fun sleeping on the floor." He hopped on the bed and got comfortable.

"No no no. You, out."

"Make me, stripper boots."

"Excuse you, these are the finest boots imported directly from Paris, France, made of the highest quality-!"

"They are stripper boots. People should be throwing coins at you."

"Get out of the bed."

"I don't think so." Antinomy kicked off his own, less flamboyant boots and shed his jacket. The red goggles were removed from his head and placed on the nightstand.

"Get out of the motherfucking bed, you dill hole!" Placido whipped the comforter off the bed.

"I radiate heat anyway," Antinomy shrugged. "Goodnight." He turned on his side and closed his eyes. Placido was extremely pissed, and to make matters worse, the more Antinomy angered him, the more attractive he became.

"I'm not sleeping on the floor," Placido muttered, sitting on the bed. He carefully removed his delicate boots and articles of clothing until he was ready for bed. He lay down, facing away from Antinomy, but as soon as he closed his eyes Antinomy wrapped an arm around him.

"Get the hell off me," Placido hissed.

"If you don't like it, go sleep somewhere else," Antinomy replied in his ear.

Placido pretended not to enjoy that.

* * *

 

"Aki, dinner's ready!"

"Coming~!" Aki bounded into the kitchen. A brown-haired man was dishing out hot food at the table.

"It was nice of you to make dinner," Aki commented gratefully. The man smiled warmly at her.

"Anything for you, my sweet rose."

Usually Aki was the one who had dinner ready, but tonight Divine had said he wanted to do something special. She couldn't imagine why, but she wouldn't complain.

"Eat up, dear, eat up," Divine urged her, and Aki's cheeks glowed. Divine was being extra caring today. Maybe she had been wrong about him. She made a mental note to call Yusei later and tell him not to come and that everything was okay.

"I treat you well, don't I, Aki?"

Aki looked up from chewing thoughtfully. She nodded, her mouth full of food.

"So then why would you want to leave?"

A silence swept over the room. Aki stopped mid-chew to look horrified at her sweetly smiling boyfriend.

"Leave?" Aki repeated cautiously.

"Yes. Why would you want to leave me, Aki? Especially when we're soon-to-be parents."

Aki's insides froze. How did Divine know…? She swallowed fast and tried to explain herself.

"Divine, I-!"

"I know about your escape plan with Yusei. I'm not going to let that happen."

Suddenly Aki felt drowsy. The room began to spin and the sound of ocean waves rushed in her ears. Divine must have put something in the food.

"N-No…" she gasped as she passed out, her dinner falling to the floor.

* * *

 

"Kiryu? You okay?"

Yusei was looking concernedly at his friend who was staring with unflattering shock at Placido, who had just emerged from the guest room with Antinomy.

"What're you lookin' at?" Placido snarled. Kiryu took a step back and shielded Yusei protectively.

"Why are you here?!" Kiryu demanded.

"What kind of question is that?" Placido retorted. He went to sweep past Kiryu but Kiryu took that as a sign of attack. He threw himself protectively over Yusei and they crashed to the ground.

"I'll never let you have Yusei!" Kiryu shouted.

Placido looked like he couldn't even comprehend what was happening.

"Is this some kind of joke?" he snorted.

"Kiryu, really, I'm fine," Yusei told him, struggling to get up. "Aki is who we need to worry about."

 _He's an android!_  Kiryu sent the message with his brain waves. Yusei showed no sign of having heard him.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Yusei asked.

 _Can't you hear me?_  Kiryu thought at him.

"Kiryu? Hello?"

"What a nut job," Placido scoffed. Before Yusei could even glare at him, Jack had shoved Placido against the wall.

"Say something about my cousin's mental health again and it will be the last thing you ever do," Jack threatened.

"You gonna punish me, Jacky-boy?" Placido grinned playfully, extremely turned on. Jack looked as though he would like nothing more than to murder him.

"If anyone is punishing you, it'll be me," Antinomy snapped, yanking Placido's ear. Placido squealed and flailed as Antinomy dragged him away. Kiryu let out a deep breath. He picked himself up and helped up Yusei.

"Don't let your guard down," he whispered, brushing Yusei off and glaring down the hall where Antinomy had dragged Placido.

"Whatever you say," Yusei replied. "Now come on, we have a long way to drive."

"Yusei was suspicious of Kiryu," someone narrated. Kiryu looked around before he realized it was just a voice.

"Kiryu looked around before he realized I was just a voice," the voice said.

"Great. You're going to be annoying," Kiryu grumbled.

"Hm? You okay, Kiryu?" Yusei asked as he packed up the last of his luggage.

"Yusei zipped up the suitcase carefully," the narrator boomed. The words echoed around the room.

"There's a new voice and it's narrating everything like some kind of movie," Kiryu sighed.

"A new voice?" Yusei looked concerned.

"Yusei is looking at Kiryu with concern."

"Kiryu, are you sure you're feeling up to this? Maybe we should stop by the hospital. After we get Aki, we can always drive back and pick you up if you're better…"

"I'm fine," Kiryu insisted.

"Kiryu lied to Yusei about being fine," the voice boomed.

"Shut up," Kiryu hissed at the ceiling. Yusei was very worried, but his concern for Aki was greater. Besides, Kiryu recognized that it was just a voice. That was a good sign. Though the episode earlier was a little worrisome.

"Don't forget to pack me!" Crow demanded, folding his arms and pouting at Kiryu.

"And then Crow appeared," the narrator said. Crow looked around wildly.

"Who is that?" he asked, pointing up at empty space. "Are you seeing someone else, Kiryu? Are you cheating on me?!"

Kiryu massaged his temples. He had to stay together for Yusei. Crow wasn't real. The narrator wasn't real. Yusei was real.

"Yo, Kiryu." It was Jack. Jack was real too, Kiryu reminded himself.

"What?" Kiryu asked.

"I hate to ask this, but can Bruno's brother and his supposed boyfriend hitch a ride with you guys? I want to be alone with Bruno."

"Absolutely not!" Kiryu hissed, causing Jack to recoil.

"Whoa, what's with the attitude?" Jack snorted.

 _You idiot. Can't you see they're androids?!_  Kiryu thought at him. Jack waved a hand in front of Kiryu's face.

"Hello? Earth to Kiryu, you in there?"

_They're androids and they want Yusei!_

"That's why they can't ride with us," Kiryu said out loud.

"What? You didn't give me a reason! Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine!" Kiryu huffed.

"Kiryu blatantly lied to his hot cousin," the narrator said. Kiryu ignored the voice.

"Kiryu is ignoring me."

Kiryu resisted the urge to bang his head on the wall.

"Kiryu resisted the urge to bang his head on the wall."

 _This is driving me crazy,_  he thought to himself.  _But I have to keep it together for Yusei, at least until after we rescue Aki_.

* * *

 

To Jack's displeasure, Antinomy and Placido took the back seats of Bruno's truck, which Jack volunteered to drive. Placido took the seat directly behind Jack. He did his best to ignore Antinomy.

"You two aren't acting much like a couple," Bruno said, looking back at them. Before either could answer, Jack waved him off.

"It's Placido's thing," he said, "he likes his partner to treat him like crap. That's why he fell so hard for me, because I didn't take any of his bullshit, which of course he does on purpose to look for a potential mate."

Placido looked scandalized.

"Yes, and you would think that Jack would have mentioned such a thing before setting us up," Antinomy joked dryly.

"Yeah, he's a real stinker," Placido seethed. Jack was so close to just slamming on the brakes and throwing Placido out. He really wished they could have gone with Kiryu and Yusei, but Kiryu had freaked out when he asked him and hadn't even given him a proper reason. Well, that was one of the very few perks of having a mental illness; you were allowed to be unreasonable.

"Well, don't get any ideas. Jack is mine," Bruno claimed, and Jack's ears perked happily.

"You don't own people," Placido huffed.

"No, he owns me. I am actually his property," Jack said without hesitation.

"And you get to be  _my_  property, you lucky dog you," Antinomy said sarcastically, pinching Placido's cheek.

"Don't touch me," Placido scoffed, smacking his hand away.

"Rude," Antinomy replied.

"I cannot take another hour of this, let alone days, weeks…" Jack groaned to Bruno.

"It's okay. You have me," Bruno told him sweetly, rubbing his arm. Placido mimicked vomiting.

"You know what? I can't take this on an empty stomach," Jack sighed. "Let's go find somewhere to eat."

"But we'll lose Yu- the others, if we do that," Bruno said.

"I know how to get there," Jack insisted. "We'll only be an hour or two behind them."

* * *

 

"Kiryu, are you sure you're okay?" Yusei asked as they pulled up to a gas station.

"I'm okay. I'm fine," Kiryu assured him.

"Kiryu lies to his sweetheart once again," the narrator said.

"Will you be okay if I go use the bathroom?"

"I'm  _fine_ ," Kiryu insisted. "I've been taking my meds. I can think clearly."

Yusei looked reluctant but nature called when nature called.

"I'll be as quick as I can," he promised, locking Kiryu in.

After five minutes, Kiryu began getting anxious.

"He's never coming back, you know," Crow yawned lazily in the back seat.

"He'll be back soon. He's just using the bathroom," Kiryu said.

"Kiryu is sure he is right," the narrator said. Crow showed no sign of having heard the narrator this time. His hallucinations' interactions were always unpredictable.

"Do you know you're a hallucination?" Kiryu asked.

"Did you know you're a cunt-sucking whore dog?" Crow replied.

"Kiryu thought that was very rude," the narrator said.

Suddenly something large hit the driver side door, grabbing Kiryu's attention. It was Yusei, and he was fumbling for the car's keyhole with such shaky, frantic hands that he kept missing.

"Kiryu was alarmed at Yusei's frantic movements," the voice narrated.

"Where ya' going, pretty boy?" a voice from behind them yelled. "I'm not good enough for ya, huh?"

Yusei finally got the car door open and jumped inside, closing and locking the door. He was panting fast and looked scared, very scared.

"Is that a hallucination or is that really happening?" Kiryu asked.

"It's really happening," Yusei replied, his voice cracking. Kiryu had never seen him so upset like this. He tried to put the key in the ignition but he kept missing.

" _DAMN IT!_ " he hissed, throwing the keys. He clutched himself and burst into tears.

"Did that guy upset you?" Kiryu raged, putting two and two together.

"Don't," Yusei sniffed. "Just… don't. We need to leave-  _KIRYU, NO!"_ But it was too late. Kiryu had unbuckled his seat belt and unlocked his door, slamming it behind him.

"Who're you supposed to be?" the guy approaching them asked with his arms outstretched. "Ya trying to protect your little queer manwhore?"

"Cut off his dick," Crow said, cracking his knuckles.

"If you value your life you'll leave now," Kiryu said. Now he couldn't say he didn't warn him.

"What're gonna do, scrawny? Flip your hair at me?"

Kiryu cracked his own knuckles.

"The hero readies for battle," the narrator said. But before Kiryu could make a move, the man pulled out a knife.

"Ooh, now it's interesting," Crow laughed. Kiryu took a fighting pose. He'd defend Yusei to the death, if he had to.

"That guy, in the car," Kiryu said with a nod behind him. "I've come at him with a knife before. More than once. You don't scare me."

"Big talk, pretty boy," the man grinned.

"I'll tell you something else, too," Kiryu said, squaring up. "No one is allowed to hurt that guy. Not even  _ME!_ " Kiryu lunged at him. Yusei screamed inside the car and revved up the engine. He saw Kiryu dodging the knife by inches. It was like right out of a movie. Yusei floored the gas and aimed at the attacker. The attacker threw himself out of harm's way, dropping the knife in the process. Kiryu ran around and got in the passenger side. Yusei locked the car and floored it out of the parking lot.

No one said anything for a while. Yusei focused on driving; he wanted to get as far away from that place as possible.

"Is he following us?" Yusei asked after ten minutes of silence.

"I don't think so," Kiryu said, looking back. "That would be something I would notice, out of anyone."

"I know, that's why I asked you." Yusei pulled over. Before Kiryu could ask what he was doing, he had bolted from the car and was violently sick in the bushes. Kiryu unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He walked over to Yusei, not sure what he should do, but he knew he should do something.

"Hey, Yusei…." Kiryu put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Yusei recoiled so violently that it scared Kiryu, and  _he_  jumped back.

"Don't touch me!" Yusei snapped.

"Alright, sorry!" Kiryu put his hands up in defense. Yusei turned to vomit again, and then crouched down into a ball and burst into tears.

"…Yusei…?!" Kiryu had no idea what to do. He'd never seen Yusei like this before. Should he call Jack? Should he call the police?

"Did Yusei ever go to the bathroom?" Crow wondered, watching him with boredom. Then it occurred to Kiryu what must have happened.

"Yusei… did he…. did he…. what happened?" He didn't want to voice his suspicion.

Yusei stood up, wiping his face.

"What do you  _think_  fucking happened?!" he snapped, and he marched back to the car.

"And yet you're the crazy one," Crow shrugged.

"Crow, shut up!" Kiryu hissed, actually stomping the ground. "I've had it up to fucking  _here_  with your commentary! Yusei was just traumatized and I can't afford to be sick right now!"

"So what? You want me to leave?!" Crow shouted back, sounding offended.

"Yes!" Kiryu growled.

"Fine! I'll fucking go! Good luck on your own, pal!" He flew off. Kiryu's mind was the clearest he could remember it being in… well, a long time. He jogged back to the car where Yusei was rinsing his mouth out with water.

"You're in no condition to drive," Kiryu stated. "I'm driving."

"The hell you are," Yusei snorted. But Kiryu went over to the driver's side. Yusei wasn't calling the shots right now. He was.

"And that was the moment Kiryu became a man," said the narrator. And Kiryu  _felt_  the voice leave him. Yusei didn't argue. He got in the passenger's seat and buckled up, still looking in terrible condition.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Kiryu told him. It was what Yusei always said to him after he had a bad episode. Yusei showed no sign of having heard him. He just stared vacantly out the window.

* * *

 

It was dark, and Aki couldn't tell if she was awake or sleeping, or even where she was. She couldn't move very much. She tried to scream for Divine, but found she was gagged. And then she remembered that Divine had done this to her. Great. So how was she going to get herself out of this one? All she could do was hope and pray that Yusei was on his way to rescue her. Yusei would save the day. Just like when they were kids and she'd pretend to be a princess and Yusei would pretend to be her knight in shining armor protecting her from harm. Yusei was her soulmate. Not in a romantic way. At least, not anymore.

' _Aki? Can I talk to you for a sec?'_

_At twelve years old, the divide between boy and girl was growing. Yusei and Aki still played the Princess game, though, when they were bored. And Aki had just expressed a desire to play it again. She wanted to get all dressed up and look pretty and pretend to be royalty. She had run upstairs to her room to change when Yusei followed her up to ask to talk. Aki opened her door._

' _What's up, Yusei?'_

_Yusei looked very uncomfortable. Was this it? Was Yusei finally going to admit he had feelings for her? That's what flew through Aki's mind. Yes, this was the moment every girl dreamed of! After all, when they were even younger they had promised each other their hands in marriage. This was only natural._

' _I… Please don't think I'm weird,' he begged. So this_ was _it! Aki's heart burst with excitement._

' _I'd never think you're weird!' she proclaimed._

' _Um… do you think… do you think it'd be okay if…. um… If I was the princess this time?'_

_It took a few minutes for Aki to absorb the question._

'… _But you can't be a princess,' she said when she found her voice. 'You're a boy.' She was disappointed that Yusei wasn't confessing his love to her._

' _Well… maybe I don't want to be a boy anymore.'_

' _What? Are you saying you want to be a girl?' Aki asked._

' _Maybe,' Yusei shrugged, pawing at the ground with his foot. 'Is that weird?'_

' _Kind of, yeah,' Aki said._

' _Just… for once, I want to be the one who gets saved by a knight in shining armor. Why is that so bad?'_

' _I… well, I don't know…' Aki replied with hesitation. 'Just… I've never read a story where the princess saves the knight. The princess is always the one in trouble and needing saving.'_

' _But why?' Yusei pouted._

' _I don't know, I didn't write all those stories!' Aki huffed. 'It's just always been that way!'_

' _That doesn't seem fair,' Yusei sighed. 'There's no reason why I can't choose to be the princess or the knight.'_

' _But you're a boy!' Aki said with exasperation._

' _Well, I didn't choose to be one!' Yusei snapped, and he stormed off, leaving both of them thoroughly confused._

* * *

 

It was a full hour before Yusei decided the time had come. He turned the volume down on the radio, and instantly Kiryu was alert and focused on him.

"I have to tell you something," Yusei said, his voice cracking a bit from earlier.

"I am all ears," Kiryu told him.

Yusei sighed heavily.

"I was… I was sexually abused by a teacher in middle school."

Kiryu almost spun off the road. He straightened the car out but looked at Yusei with horror.

"Don't look at me like that," Yusei grumbled, and Kiryu snapped back to the road.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to… I mean… I'm so sorry. Sorry… Yusei." He had no idea what to say. What did you say to someone who dropped a bomb like that out of nowhere?

"That's why we moved… Moved here. Because when that got out, my parents didn't want it hanging over my head throughout high school. My reputation, which wasn't so great to begin with, was ruined. So we moved and I got a blank slate. My parents even let me skip middle school all together, since they were only keeping me in that grade because of my age and friends and such. But of course I tested two grades ahead of my age…" He was just prattling on.

"Can I ask you a question?" Kiryu asked cautiously.

"Sure. Might as well spill everything now that the cat's out of the bag," Yusei snorted darkly.

"What happened to the teacher?"

"Fired. Jail. Something like that," Yusei told him.

"Uh, did you… um… how did you… uh… When did you tell someone?"

"I didn't really. I was too scared. But Aki found out, and she got me help. She's a very bright girl and picks up on things like a detective. It took her a month to piece the evidence together. She noticed everything, from the clothes I wore, to the way I held myself when in that class, to how little interest I was showing in things I liked. She knew when I started… hating myself. I burnt myself on purpose and she knew immediately, even where I had injured myself, just by my body language. I tried to push her away, and she let me believe I was succeeding, but all the time she was looking out for me and collecting evidence. I don't even know where I'd be today without her."

That was a lot of information for Kiryu to absorb. Although this was a horrific, traumatizing incident, somehow it made Kiryu feel closer to Yusei, spiritually.

"You never told me you self-harmed."

"Yeah, well… I didn't want to unintentionally give you ideas."

Kiryu suddenly had a flashback to that morning when Jack stole Bruno. Yusei had had an episode of his own, and burnt himself with a cigarette. That reaction was starting to make sense. It hadn't been a moment of insanity. It was a moment of weakness. A step back. A relapse.

A flurry of warm emotions overcame Kiryu. God, he loved Yusei even more! Although telling him that now would be inappropriate. He had to will himself not to smile or laugh or cry.

"You okay?" Yusei asked, seeing Kiryu's face twitching. Kiryu burst into laughter.

"I'm s-sorry…!" he gasped. "It's not funny…!"

"I overloaded you, didn't I?" Yusei sighed. Kiryu was laughing so hard he was gasping for breath.

"Not… fault….!" he tried to tell Yusei. Tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"Okay, pull over. You're going to get us both killed."

Kiryu did as he was told. He pulled over and waited for the laughter to subside. He was left panting hard and clutching his stomach.

"Maybe I should drive now," Yusei said.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Kiryu insisted, wiping his face. "Sorry about that. You know, the whole disorganized thoughts and inappropriate emotional reactions thing."

"I think I know you well enough by now to know that you weren't actually laughing at me."

"Um… you, though," Kiryu said, getting serious. "Are you okay? Do you, like, need me to do anything?"

"You don't have to walk on eggshells around me. I'm fine," Yusei said. "Well, I'm okay now, at any rate. That guy just… caught me off guard. I guess I have to be more careful…"

"I won't let anyone hurt you!" Kiryu declared. "I'll protect you at any cost!"

Yusei smiled.

"Thanks, Kiryu. That really means a lot to me."

It was nice to be the princess for once.

* * *

 

' _I don't know, Yusei. This doesn't seem right.'_

_Aki was frowning, watching as her best friend slipped into one of her dresses._

' _Just for a little while. I wanna know what it's like.'_

_Aki shrugged. If this is what Yusei wanted to do she wasn't going to stop him._

' _Can I use your makeup, too?'_

' _I guess,' Aki told him, scratching her neck. Yusei looked at himself in the mirror, twirling the skirt of the dress proudly._

' _I look pretty,' Yusei smiled. Aki immediately noticed the change in Yusei's voice. Her perception skills were sharp. Yusei was happier than usual. Why was that? Most boys thought wearing a dress was gross or funny. But Yusei looked so… comfortable._

' _Can you paint my nails too?' Yusei asked eagerly._

' _Sure. It's a bit of a pain to get off, though.'_

' _I won't take it off.'_

' _You'll have to. You can't go to school with your nails painted.'_

' _Why not? Everyone else does.'_

'Girls _do, not boys,' Aki told him._

' _Oh…' Aki immediately noticed his change of tone and expression._

' _Why is that upsetting you?'_

' _Because… I don't think it's fair. I like girl things but I'm not allowed to do girl things just because I'm a boy. Yet girls can do boy things like wear pants and get a job and play sports. Why can't a boy wear a dress or paint his nails?'_

 _Aki thought about that. Yusei_ was _making a valid point. It was conditioned that men were strong and worked and made money, while women cooked and cleaned and raised kids. The concept that women could also do the men's jobs was a recent development. But there was no development that said men could do women things. In fact, it seemed like men who did women things were seen as weak and made fun of. When men were compared to women, it was to insult them. When women were compared to men, they were strong and seen as empowered. Did the world know about this? Aki thought they had made all the civil rights they needed, letting women be treated like men. But men weren't allowed to be treated like women._

' _Wow,' Aki said, thinking this concept through. 'I don't know why I never saw it like that. Why has no one else noticed?'_

_Yusei shrugged and then turned back to the mirror to admire himself._

' _Do you think other boys will think I'm pretty?' he asked. The truth was Aki thought they would laugh and bully him. But she didn't want to ruin Yusei's magic._

' _I'm sure there are boys out there who would like a girl like you.'_

_Yusei grinned at her._

' _Maybe I should get my ears pierced.'_

' _One thing at a time, Yus. Right now, nails.'_

* * *

 

Yusei fell asleep, which was probably unwise as Kiryu was driving. But Kiryu's head was clear, so very clear. Beyond clear.  _Beyond understanding._  He knew they would get to their destination because the Universe was guiding him. He was at Maximum Clearness. Clear Mind. Yes, that was the phrase. Clear Mind would lead him to the Path that the Light shined upon. Right to Aki, to save her. Because she was important to Yusei. That made her important to him too. She was a Black Rose Witch.

All this made sense in Kiryu's head and he didn't question it or how he knew it. He just knew that Yusei was made of Stardust which was the Light that shined upon the Path, and Aki was a Black Rose Witch. Placido, Bruno, and Bruno's brother were androids, and they wanted to steal Stardust. But Kiryu was made of Death, and he wouldn't let that happen. And Jack… He was a Red Daemon with a Burning Soul.

All of this made complete sense. This was mission Victim Sanctuary. They were saving the Black Rose Witch from the Leader of Arcadia.

All these thoughts and concepts were clear when he was alone with his thoughts. Yusei was sleeping and there was no need to bother him. He knew all this too, anyway.

 _Are you hungry?_  Kiryu thought at Yusei's dreams.

 _Yes, we should get chicken,_  Dream Yusei agreed. Kiryu put on his turn signal and made his way to the nearest exit.

* * *

 

' _Mom, can I ask you something?' Aki sat at her dining room table, looking worried._

' _Anything, darling,' her mother told her._

' _Why is it that girls can do boy things but boys can't do girl things?'_

_It looked like that hadn't been what her mother was expecting her to ask._

' _Well, that's quite a question,' her mom said thoughtfully. 'I guess the reason is that men still pull the strings in the world and being seen as a woman is still considered weak.'_

' _But why?' Aki asked, not satisfied with that answer._

' _Oh, honey, it's just always been that way,' her mom said. 'But you don't have to worry about that. It's okay for girls to do boy things, more or less, so you have nothing to fear. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about-'_

' _It's not about me, though,' Aki said. 'It's about Yusei.'_

_The silence that followed that statement was deafening. Aki looked around to see if anything was wrong, but all seemed normal._

' _Why aren't you saying anything?' she asked._

' _Oh, honey,' her mom said, and Aki immediately picked up the pity in her voice._

' _What's with the pity?' Aki demanded._

' _Am I to understand that Yusei has been showing the desire to do girl things like you?'_

' _Yeah. Is that bad?'_

' _Well, it's not_ bad _, per say…' her mom answered. 'But honey, your friend Yusei… I think he might be gay.'_

' _That's not very nice!' Aki snapped._

' _No, you misunderstand,' her mom told her. 'Gay means he is a boy who likes other boys, and usually likes things that it's only normal for girls to like. I mean, that's not the case with everyone but sometimes you can just tell. And I think this might be one of those cases.'_

' _What? I thought it was a rude word.'_

' _No. Kids these days use it as slang but it really shouldn't be. It's just like using the word 'retarded' as an insult. It's not right.'_

_Aki thought about this._

' _So… what about a girl who does guy things?'_

' _Well, that's usually normal. But there's a certain point where if she really acts like a boy and unladylike and usually has really short, boyish hair, then she probably likes other girls and that makes her gay too. It's hard to explain. These things really aren't as black and white as people think they are.'_

' _What do you mean by liking?'_

' _You know how Mommy and Daddy love each other?' she asked, and Aki nodded._

' _Well, sometimes a girl likes another girl the way Mommy likes Daddy. Same thing with boys and other boys.'_

_Aki really thought about this bit of information._

' _But if Yusei is gay, why hasn't he told me?' she asked._

' _Well, he might be afraid to tell you. But if he's been expressing these desires to you, he probably doesn't know himself.'_

' _Should I ask him?' she asked._

' _Maybe you should talk about it with him. But don't tell anyone else. That's his decision.'_

_Aki nodded. If this was true, if this was a real thing, then maybe if Yusei knew about it he wouldn't feel so alone anymore! If there were other people like Yusei out there, then that meant that even if these things seemed social taboo in public, Yusei could be himself around these people without worrying about being judged._

_However, this meant that, if Yusei really was gay, they would never be married. He would never return her feelings, since he'd have feelings over the same people she would!_ Well, _Aki decided,_ I can live with that. He's still my best friend.

_She would have to talk to Yusei about this._

* * *

 

Yusei woke up groggily to the smell of food.

"Mmmm…. whadzat?" he yawned, stretching.

"Duh, chicken," Kiryu laughed. "You're the one who wanted it."

"What?"

Yusei was more awake now.

"It's in the back seat," Kiryu said, and Yusei turned.

"Kiryu! What the hell?!"

"What? Did I get the wrong chicken?"

Yusei stared in amazed horror at the fifteen buckets of fried chicken in the backseat of his car.

"Why did you buy fifteen buckets of chicken?!"

"That's how much you said you wanted," Kiryu told him. "Don't you remember?"

"No!" Yusei cried in exasperation. "There's no way I'd ask you to buy me fifteen…!  _How did you even pay for all this?!"_

"The emergency credit card Jack gave me."

"You didn't tell me Jack gave you an emergency credit card!"

"He told me not to tell you."

Yusei's face heated up with rage.

"If Jack told you to jump off a fucking bridge, would you?!"

"The voices tell me to do even worse things and I listen to them. You're asking the wrong person."

Yusei was making the sourest pouty face and Kiryu wished he had a camera.

"Whatever. I'll deal with him later!" Yusei snapped, reaching in the back to grab a bucket of chicken.

* * *

 

' _Yusei, I need to talk to you privately. Can you come over after school?'_

' _Yeah, I should be able to,' Yusei said, closing his locker._

' _Great! See you later, then!'_

_Aki was seeing her classmates in a whole different light now. This girl had very short hair. This boy had longer hair. This girl played football after school. This boy wore pink. Aki wondered how many of her classmates were gay. She felt nosy. But it really wasn't her place to ask. The only reason she was going to confront Yusei was because he was her best friend, and she needed to know if they were going to get married or not. Because if not, she could open up her options to other boys, and help Yusei find a boy who liked boys. In a way, it was kind of exciting. Yes, she was a little disappointed that Yusei might not end up being her husband. But at the same time it was exciting not to have her life so planned out like that._

_After school, Yusei rode his bike over to Aki's house._

' _What did you wanna talk about?' Yusei asked. Aki wasn't sure how to address this._

' _Have you ever thought about dating?' she asked._

' _Dating? We're only twelve.'_

' _I know. But… I need to know if… are you attracted to me?' Somehow that was easier than asking if he was attracted to guys._

' _O-Oh… Um…' Yusei scratched his head. 'I don't know… You're my best friend, and you're beautiful, really, but…'_

' _But you're attracted to other boys, right?'_

_Instantly Aki knew she had hit the nail on the head. Yusei's cheeks turned scarlet and he looked mortified._

' _It's okay, calm down,' Aki sighed, sitting down. But Yusei looked as though he just gotten caught doing something very, very bad._

' _H-How did you know…?' he squeaked, his eyes filling with tears._

' _Because it's a real thing. It's called being gay.'_

' _Gay? Isn't that a bad word?'_

' _No. For some reason people think it is, but it's not. But it's what you are, and you're not alone! There are so many more boys- people- out there who feel the same way you do!'_

' _I'm… I'm not alone? I'm not weird?!' It seemed as though Yusei was begging her to confirm that this was true._

' _Yes. I asked my mom. I kind of talked to her about you liking girl things, sorry. But I was confused and when I told her, she explained it to me. You're gay. You're a boy who likes other boys like most girls do.' Aki couldn't keep the tone of disappointment out of her voice._

' _Wait. Are there girls who like girls too?'_

' _Apparently.'_

' _Can someone like girls and boys at the same time?'_

_Aki shrugged._

' _I dunno. I didn't ask that. It would be cool if you liked both, though, because then we could still… you know… get married like we promised.'_

' _I'll still marry you, Aki. You're my best friend!'_

' _But you're not in love with me. I want someone who is head-over-heels fairy tale in love with me, you know?'_

' _That sounds nice,' Yusei sighed dreamily, sitting down next to her._

' _You'll always be my best friend, Yusei,' Aki told him, lightly punching him on the arm._

' _You'll always be my best friend, too.'_

* * *

 

"We're probably three hours behind them now," Bruno sighed as they pulled up to a gas station.

"Hey, don't you trust me?" Jack pouted at him.

"I'm still working on that," Bruno joked darkly. Placido smirked.

"I'm gonna go ask for directions…" Jack muttered, getting out of the car.

"I'll go use the bathroom, then," Bruno replied, also getting out. Antinomy and Placido remained in the car.

Bruno followed the sign to the sketchy bathroom in the back of the building. It never occurred to him to be on the alert for danger. He didn't think twice upon hearing someone enter the bathroom as he was using it. But just as he finished, someone shoved him up against the urinal.

"Make a sound and I'll knock your teeth out," a deep voice growled in his ear. This man was much stronger than him, and Bruno was already at a disadvantage because he was a pacifist.

There was nothing he could do. He was going to be raped and get AIDS and die. This was it. What a way to go, in a gas station bathroom.

The man shoved his fingers inside Bruno, who gasped in pain as fire erupted from his abdomen up his spine.

"I said no noise!" the man hissed, giving Bruno another shove. His chin hit the handle of the urinal and he felt a hot bruise blossom immediately. Also he probably just contracted ten different types of viruses from that alone.

Suddenly there was a noise behind them. Someone was trying to open the door, but the attacker must have locked it. They both looked at the door.

"Bruno? You in there?" Jack said, knocking briefly.

"Occupodo!" the man snapped. On the other side of the door, Jack scratched his face. If Bruno wasn't in the car and wasn't in the bathroom and wasn't inside, where was he?

 _If he leaves, that's it for me…!_  Bruno thought desperately. Trying not to think about the painful repercussions he was going to face when he acted, he filled his lungs with air and then yelled as loud as he could, "JACK! HELP!"

"I told you to keep quiet!" the attacker snapped, shoving Bruno's head violently into the urinal handle. Bruno was able to turn his head slightly so that it hit his chin, not his teeth. It hurt so much that Bruno was sure it would have knocked some of his teeth out.

There was a loud bang and Jack crashed though the door, knocking it off its hinges. Before the attacker could react, Jack had ripped him away from Bruno and punched him in the face. Hurriedly, Bruno pulled up his pants and then backed into a corner, shaking badly. Jack and the man fought for a good few minutes before the man was unconscious.

Jack wiped the blood off his face and then turned to Bruno.

"Bruno, are you okay? Are you hurt? Did he touch you?"

Shock was finally settling in. Bruno burst into heavy, hysterical sobs. Even though he was gross and covered in bathroom slime, Jack pulled him close and helped him out of the bathroom.

"Come on. We'll go to the police station. You'll be alright." The faster they got out of there, the better.

* * *

 

"Don't get any ideas," Placido huffed.

"Ideas about what?" Antinomy asked. That statement seemed to come from nowhere.

"About kissing me. Because we're alone together in the car."

"I wasn't."

"Good."

They both stared out the opposite windows.

 _That was a test and you just failed,_  Placido thought, his attractiveness to Antinomy falling several levels from where it had risen last night when Antinomy had dominated him. This was boring. He didn't want a sissy guy who did what he was told. He was supposed to fight back, to challenge him. He smirked at his reflection in the window.

Weakling. As soon as he got revenge on Jack, he was dumping this guy in the trash where he belonged.

"Placido?"

"What?" Placido turned just slightly in Antinomy's direction. In a flash, Antinomy pushed him back against the truck window and smashed their lips together. Placido let out a furious screech through his nose, shoving Antinomy back. He slapped him, knocking those stupid red goggles off his face.

"You son of a bitch!" Placido hissed, his heart racing. That really  _had_  taken him by surprise.

"I know what game you're playing now," Antinomy said, picking his goggles back up. "I don't know why you think showing that you actually like something is such a terrible thing, but if that's how you wanna play it, fine. I'll do the opposite of whatever you say."

"You know, explaining the rules like that breaks the magic of it," Placido snorted hotly.

"I'm sorry that's the only way you can get off, apparently. I just want to make it clear, because I don't actually want to do anything you don't want. That's not right. People go to jail for that. But for some goddamn reason you need someone to act forcefully, so whatever. I'll do it."

"You don't get it at all!" Placido snapped. "I don't-!" But he stopped when he saw Jack leading a very distressed Bruno back to the car.

"You don't what?"

Placido pointed behind him, and Antinomy turned.

"Bruno!" He was out the door before Placido could even say anything. Antinomy ran over as fast as he could. Bruno was crying hard and Jack was holding him.

"Bruno! What did you do to him?!" Antinomy demanded. He tried to yank Bruno out of Jack's arms but upon physical contact, Bruno screamed, " _DON'T TOUCH ME!_ "

Antinomy recoiled in shock.

"Come on, back to the car," Jack said, leading him on.

"What happened?" Antinomy asked again with alarm, following them.

"We're taking a little detour to the police station," Jack said, helping Bruno into the passenger seat.

"No, don't leave me!" Bruno sobbed, clinging to Jack's shirt when he tried to leave. "What if he comes back?!"

"Bruno, I'm just going around to the driver's side. It will take me three seconds."

"No!"

Bruno was being completely hysterical. Antinomy wasn't sure what to do.

"Okay. Jack, Bruno, in the back. Placido, up front. I'll drive."

"Good idea," Jack agreed, helping Bruno back out. It was then that Antinomy noticed a red mark on Bruno's cheek and chin, as though someone had punched him. There were several bruises blooming on Jack's body too.

"What's going on?" Placido asked, getting out of the car.

"I don't know. Something happened to Bruno. Get in the front seat, I'm driving."

Placido didn't argue. As much of an asshole as he was, he saw how much distress Antinomy's brother was in and knew this was no time for assholiness. He got in the passenger seat as Jack helped Bruno into the back.

"Where are we going?" Placido asked as Antinomy buckled up and adjusted all the mirrors.

"Police station."

Placido's face turned from his normal pale complexion to green and then to stark white in the span of a few seconds.

"What's wrong with you?!" Antinomy snapped.

"Oh right, you have a thing about police, don't you?" Jack said from the back.

"….It's nothing," Placido said quietly. "Just get going."

"Very noble of you to put my brother's needs before yours," Antinomy complimented him as he backed out of the parking space.

"Shut up," Placido said in that strange, soft voice again.

 _Well, that's a story for a different day,_  Antinomy decided. Today's story was about Bruno. Tomorrow, Aki. He'd have to investigate Placido some other time.

* * *

 

_That day, Aki knew something was wrong. All that had happened was that the teacher asked Yusei to stay back for a few minutes, since there was no class in that room next period. It was to discuss his grade. But when Yusei got into class, twenty minutes late, Aki sensed something off about her best friend. He was walking a little funny and he was jumpy. Very jumpy. Someone dropped a pencil and he jumped out of his seat. He wasn't talking or looking at anyone._

' _Yusei? You okay?' she whispered to him._

' _I'm fine!' he snapped viciously at her. Yusei never snapped at anyone, let alone her. 'I just… got a bad grade, okay? I don't wanna talk about it.'_

_From that point on, Yusei was very distant with her. She knew something was up but kept her distance in respect to his privacy._

'… _. How did you know….?'_

_Yusei was in the waiting room of the police station with Aki._

' _Because I know you. I knew instantly that something was wrong.'_

_Yusei wasn't looking at her. He was hugging a blanket around himself._

' _I'm sorry I didn't tell you…'_

' _You don't have to apologize for anything.'_

_Yusei pulled the blanket over his face._

' _God, I'm so embarrassed,' he sniffed. 'Why did this happen to me?'_

' _It could have happened to anyone. It's not your fault. None of this was your fault, okay, Yusei?'_

' _But it didn't. It happened to me.'_

_Aki resisted the urge to pat him reassuringly on the shoulder. She wasn't sure if he was okay with touching yet._

' _You know, I've read about all these horrible things, in books and the news and stuff. I never thought it would happen to me…'_

' _You're going to be okay, Yusei,' Aki assured him. 'You're strong. And you're not alone. You don't have to deal with this on your own.'_

_Suddenly, Yusei rested his head on Aki's shoulder._

' _Thanks, Aki,' he said. 'You really are my best friend.'_

' _I'll never stop being your friend. I promise.'_

* * *

 

"Placido, take my phone," Jack said, handing it to him. "Call Kiryu and tell him what happened. I'd rather you talk to Yusei in case Kiryu's a little…" He whistled and made a circular motion with his finger. "…But Yusei's probably driving and he really shouldn't talk on the phone while driving."

Placido took the phone but looked resentfully at Jack.

"Don't look at me like that!" Jack snapped. "We're not making you go into the police station so do this for me, please!"

Placido rolled his eyes as Jack swept himself away, but he dialed Kiryu's number and waited for him to answer.

However, it was that Yusei guy who answered.

"Hello?"

"You shouldn't be talking on the phone while driving!" Placido said before he could stop himself.

"I'm not driving, Kiryu is. Why are you calling from Jack's phone? Is everything alright?"

"No. We had a little… incident at a gas station and now we're at the police station."

"What?! Which gas station?!"

"That shady one with the red roof. I don't know if you've been-"

" _That's the one where I was…!_ I mean…"

Placido raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what happened, but it really upset Bruno. He was completely hysterical."

"Which police station are you at? We're coming."

"No, we are really behind you guys and don't you have a damsel in distress to save?"

"Shit. Yeah. Alright, we'll talk more later. Just… tell Bruno he's not alone."

Placido wasn't sure what that meant but he might as well pass on the message.

"Fine. See ya." Placido hung up.

"What was that all about?" Kiryu asked.

"I think they stopped at that same gas station," Yusei said, pocketing the phone. "And I'm pretty sure Bruno was the victim."

"Serves him right," Crow said, almost making Kiryu swerve off the road.

"I thought you were going to leave!" Kiryu snapped, looking at him in the rear view mirror.

"I did leave. For a little."

"What's happening? Who're you talking to?" Yusei asked.

"Crow," Kiryu grumbled.

"Maybe you should pull over and I'll drive."

"No, I wanna drive!" Kiryu whined.

"Let 'im drive," Crow yawned. "I'm gonna take a nap."

"Crow's going to sleep anyway. I'm okay," Kiryu insisted. "How much longer until we get there?"

"We still have a good four hours."

* * *

 

' _Yusei, calling me already? You've only been gone a day,' Aki joked when Yusei called her right after his first day at his new school._

' _Aki, oh my god. Today I met the hottest guy I've ever seen and he_ talked _to me…!_ To me! _'_

' _Whoa, slow down there, crabhead. It's only been your first day.'_

' _I know, but… God, he's so gorgeous I wanna cry. Everything he says is like a choir of angels-'_

_Aki snorted with laughter._

' _What? What's so funny?'_

' _Nothing's funny. It's just… Is this your first crush? Have you never had a crush on another guy before?'_

' _Not… not really… Not anyone real…'_

' _Aww, this is so cute! What's his name?'_

_Even a thousand miles away Aki could see the bashful look on his face._

' _Um… it's…. Kiryu….' he said into the phone softly._

' _Anddd what's he look like?'_

' _An angel.'_

' _Yusei.'_

' _Okay. He has short, frosty blue hair and these amazingly bright, golden eyes and his skin is the exact color of cream and not a blemish anywhere-'_

' _You mean anywhere you can see with his clothes on.'_

_Aki smirked to herself as she heard the clang of the phone she knew Yusei had dropped in shock._

' _A-Aki…!' Yusei hissed, and she could almost feel the heat radiating off his face and through the phone wires._

' _You're so innocent, Yusei.'_

' _B-Besides…' Yusei recovered himself, 'I don't even know if he'd ever go out with another guy… We ought to wear like, I don't know, a purple armband of some sort if we're gay or something so that others will know who's in and who isn't.'_

' _Pretty sure that's how the Holocaust got started. Anyway… Well, think of it this way,' Aki told him. 'If it is meant to be, it will happen.'_

' _Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Aki.'_

' _I know I am.'_

_Even a thousand miles away, they were still best friends._

* * *

 

"On our way," Yusei texted to Aki. "Be there in a few hours. Be ready."

Ten minutes later, he got a response text.

"Do not contact me ever again. If you come near me or my boyfriend, I will call the police."

Fear spread through Yusei's body.

Divine knew.

The urge to throw up was increasing severely, but Yusei forced himself to keep calm. He had to keep calm in order to get Aki safely out of this.

"He knows," Yusei said to Kiryu, putting his phone back in his pocket. "He knows and Aki's in more danger than ever."

"Well, that just settles it, doesn't it?" Crow yawned from the back of the car. "Divine is one of  _them_."

A furious adrenaline rush burst through Kiryu's body. There was no way he'd lose a friend to one of  _them_!


	8. Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusei must make a choice between Kiryu's health or Aki's safety. Antinomy finally breaks Placido down.

_**TW: violence, gore, language, sexual situations, talks of previous mental abuse? Might be more so just be warned.** _

**8: Demons**

"So here's the plan," Yusei repeated to Kiryu, who was dangerously fixated on driving. "Divine knows who I am but he doesn't know  _you_. So you're going to have to be the one to go in and distract him while I sneak in the back. He'll never suspect it if it's you."

 _No_ , Kiryu thought to Yusei through his brainwaves so that  _they_  couldn't intercept their message.  _You distract him. I'll go in and find the biggest, sharpest knife, and I'll gouge out that nasty little demon that's living inside him. That's the only way._

 _Of course, you're completely right,_  Yusei replied with his brainwaves.  _Just pretend out loud that you're going along with my plan to throw them off track._

"Right. I got it," Kiryu told Yusei. Then, even though Jack was far away, he sent Jack some brainwaves telling him the plan too and where they would be.

"Now all of China knows you're here," Crow snorted from the back.

"I'm a dragon," Kiryu said.

"What?" said Yusei.

 _I'm trying to throw them off our scent,_  Kiryu thought to him.

 _Me too,_  Yusei said with his brainwaves.

"I put the kettle on the stove and set it for twenty minutes."

Yusei looked at Kiryu as though he had three heads.

"Pull over," he finally said. "Your thoughts are all mixed up. My turn to drive."

"I'll have a hamburger and a diet coke."

"Kiryu!"

Kiryu wasn't listening. He was trying to think of more nonsense to spill to confuse  _them_.

"Monday comes after Tuesday. Tuesday comes after Wednesday. Wednesday comes after Thursday."

"You're mixing up the order of the days. Kiryu,  _pull over._ "

"Brown fades to white and white fades to blue. Glue. Chew. Ew. Moo. Roo."

 _This is bad._  Yusei tried to think of something,  _anything_  that would make Kiryu come to his senses long enough to pull over.

"Is Jack the only person you've ever slept with?"

The words were out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying. As regrettable as that question was, Yusei saw, in his eyes, Kiryu snap back to reality.

"What? Yusei!"

"Pull over right now or I'll… I'll call up Jack and ask him for every detail of how you lost your virginity!"

" _Yusei!_ " Kiryu looked mortified. Yusei took out his phone to make good with his threat (even thought it was the last thing he wanted the details on), and Kiryu took the bait.

"Fine, whatever!" He pulled over and unbuckled to switch seats with Yusei. He was furious and horrified that Yusei had said such things to him. Oh god, what must Yusei think of him?

After five minutes of silent driving (Yusei-style), Kiryu said in a very small voice, "You don't think less… less of me, because of that…. right?"

Yusei chewed on his bottom lip. The truth was, he kind of did. But really… how could he blame Kiryu? It wasn't his fault… he'd been under a delusion. Jack was the one he should think less of. He had no excuse.

"No. Not you," Yusei replied, a little dishonestly. Kiryu didn't feel better.

However, those thoughts were quickly pushed out of his mind because the eyes in the back of his head could see a black-tinted car following them. It was a good thing no one knew he could see out the back of his head.

 _They're following us_ , Kiryu thought to Yusei. Then he wondered if they were following his thought waves. Kiryu scrambled his thoughts up so that no one would be able to hear what he was really thinking.

"Kiryu, you okay? Why are you all stiff like that?" Yusei asked with concern after a full five minutes of silence. Kiryu didn't answer.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you earlier," Yusei sighed. "Forget that ever happened, okay?"

Kiryu opened his mouth to speak, but his thoughts were so jumbled up that only gibberish came out.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Yusei replied. Kiryu said a new batch of gibberish.

"Oh no. Oh noooo," Yusei was mentally hitting himself. "I knew you were slipping! You really should have gone to the hospital and let me get Aki on my own. Can you even understand what I'm saying right now?"

"Can…. middle… fiddle, idle, liddle, middle…"

Yep, Kiryu was gone. How could he have been so careless? He had been so fixated on Aki that he'd ignored Kiryu's health.

"Split my head open, sew my mouth shut, rip my arms off," Kiryu was babbling.

"Okay, it's hospital time," Yusei grumbled as he put on his turn signal.

"NO!" Kiryu snapped back to reality. "We have to save Aki! She's a Black Rose Witch and she's in danger! We have to help her, Stardust!"

"Stardust?" Now he was sure Kiryu was out of his mind. A long time ago Kiryu had told Yusei about True Names. They were something only he could see and apparently it was the True Name of a person's soul. Yusei's True Name was Stardust. Kiryu's True Name was Death. Aki's must have been Black Rose Witch. Kiryu usually only used True Names when he was so far gone that he couldn't remember real names.

Yusei had to decide now. Did he continue his rescue mission, or did he drop Kiryu off at a hospital?

Either way, someone's life was in danger. Lives were always in danger.

* * *

 

Bruno wouldn't let anyone but Jack touch him. With Jack's help he filed a report about what happened. When the whole ordeal was over, the sun was just beginning to look a little low in the sky.

"There's no way we'll make it to Yusei's friend's town today," Jack said when they were all in the car. "Do you wanna just get a hotel and take it slow for the rest of the day?"

"No, let's keep going," Bruno said. "I just wanna sleep. It will be more productive to sleep in the car than in a bed. Just as long as Jack stays back here with me." He gave Jack the most pitiful puppy-dog eyes he'd ever seen. There was no way he could deny those eyes anything whatsoever.

"Whatever you want, babe." Jack kissed his forehead.

"Ugh." Placido rolled his eyes. Antinomy jabbed him hard with his elbow.

"Hey! That hurt!" Placido snapped.

"Then keep your rudeness to yourself," Antinomy hissed. "My brother was just traumatized and if you make light of it I will throw you out the car and leave you behind!"

"Please don't talk about it," Bruno whimpered, and Antinomy's expression changed from anger to shame.

"Sorry…"

"Sheesh, I was just referring to how disgusting their affection is. No need to jump down my throat for it."

"There is nothing wrong with affection!"

"It's weakness."

"Your head is screwed on wrong!"

They continued bickering, and Jack was trying to soothe Bruno but it was obvious the fighting was upsetting him.

"Are you okay?" Jack whispered to him.

"I feel like I'm gonna puke," Bruno whimpered. He was rather pale and sweaty.

"Guys, shut up! You're making Bruno sick!" Jack hissed to the two in front.

"Yeah, so shut up," Placido snapped.

"You shut up!" Antinomy snapped back. Bruno whined loudly.

"Both of you shut up!" Jack demanded. "Not another word or I'll pummel you both!"

So the rest of the drive was silent. Bruno fell asleep in Jack's arms, and then Jack dozed off. Antinomy and Placido were silently brooding.

"Why do you have to be such an asshole?" Antinomy muttered once Jack and Bruno had been asleep for awhile.

"Why do you have to be so lame?" Placido grunted back.

"You're such a spoiled little rich shit and I don't know why I even still like you."

"That makes two of us."

Antinomy let out a snort of frustration. Placido put his feet up on the dashboard. It only took Antinomy a second's glance for his boot fetish alarm to go off. Damn, that guy had very nice, very slender legs. And very expensive, attractive boots.

To make up for how annoyed he was at being attracted to such an asshole, he asked in a soft voice, "So what was all that earlier about the police?"

Instantly Antinomy felt the air in the car change. It was as if Placido was suddenly pointing an invisible sword at his throat.

"I don't have to tell you anything," he snarled through his teeth.

"Fair enough," Antinomy said, pushing his red goggle-like glasses up his nose. Without giving anything away, he increased the weight he was putting on the accelerator.

"You know," Antinomy said almost dreamily. "It'd be a  _real shame_  if we got pulled over for speeding, considering your unexplained issue with law enforcement officials…"

Placido's eyes darted to the speedometer. It was increasing rapidly.

"Stop it. That's not funny!" Placido hissed with urgency. Antinomy couldn't help grinning as he sped up even more.

"Stop it! Seriously!"

Antinomy admired the panic in Placido's voice.

"I wonder if they'll take us all in if I make them think I'm under the influence."

There was nothing he could do; Antinomy had backed him into a corner.

"Alright, fine! I'll fucking tell you!" Placido snarled, clutching himself out of fear. "A cop killed my mom right in front of my eyes! You fucking happy now?!" He doubled over in humiliation, his cheeks burning and his eyes watering. He wouldn't let Antinomy see his weakness.

Antinomy removed his foot from the gas pedal.

"So is that why you're such an asshole?" he asked in a more gentle tone.

"Fuck you," Placido hissed viciously. He bit his lip.

_Mustn't show weakness…. mustn't show weakness…._

They continued in silence, and Antinomy distinctly heard Placido give a small sniff.

"You know, that's really not an excuse to be such a dick all the time."

"I don't give a shit what you think."

"I think you do."

Placido had had enough.

"Pull over!"

"What?"

Placido unbuckled his seatbelt and unlocked his door.

"Pull over right now. I'm getting out."

"What? Placido-"

"Pull over!"

In the back, Bruno made a whining noise. Antinomy didn't want Placido disturbing him so he did as he was asked. Before the car even stopped, Placido was out the door, boots and all. Antinomy parked the car and got out.

"What?!" Placido snapped as Antinomy came up beside him.

"Why are you making yourself so miserable?"

" _You're_  making me miserable!"

"You think you're so misunderstood and so alone, but you're not."

"Gee, thanks for the enlightenment."

"Come on, get back in the car."

"No!"

"Placido, you're really going to walk ten miles in stripper heels by yourself to god knows where?"

"Yes!"

Antinomy sighed. Did he give up and let Placido win? Or did he fight back and upset him? Or did he  _want_  to be upset? Why couldn't this guy have come with an instruction manual?

He decided to be bold and take a chance. He grabbed Placido's arm and began dragging him back.

"LET-GO-OF-ME!" Placido snarled, trying to break free. Ignoring him, Antinomy pried open the passenger door and shoved the dainty boy into the seat. Placido struggled, and the two boys wrestled until suddenly their lips were touching. Antinomy deepened this kiss, leaning his weight on top of the smaller boy to keep him still. Placido yanked at Antinomy's hair (which actually felt good, Antinomy noted) and wrapped his leg violently around Antinomy's waist. Antinomy couldn't tell if Placido was trying to kick him off or pull him closer. Eventually the struggling stopped and they sat there, making out in the front seat. Antinomy wondered how far Placido would let him go. He moved the hand not holding himself up down Placido's chest to his hip. He slowly trailed his fingers down to cup his ass cheek. God, he just wanted to squeeze that thing into jelly.

Smack.

All magic disappeared as Placido slapped Antinomy's hand away and then slapped him in the face.

"Well, was that as good for you as it was for me?" Antinomy said sarcastically, fixing his goggles.

"Get in the driver seat," Placido snarled, and Antinomy shrugged and did what he was told, licking to taste strawberry lip balm on his lips.

* * *

 

"This is the town," Yusei told Kiryu, looking around at the familiar landscape.

"Are we going to the Witch's Lair?" Kiryu asked.

"No. Aki's parents moved south, leaving her behind. They're not the most religious of people but they never accepted Aki's converted faith. She lives with that sick freak Divine now."

 _She's a prisoner of Arcadia,_  Kiryu heard Yusei think to him.  _We must kill him to set her free. That's the only way to break the spell he put on her._

"Okay. When we get to the street where she lives, I'll park and you'll go to her house, pretend to be a salesmen of some kind to distract Divine and keep his attention, and I'll sneak into the back. I'll pick the lock and search for Aki. I'll call you when we're safely in the car and you can come back. Then we'll bust outta there before he knows what happened. Sound good?"

"Got it," Kiryu agreed.  _So what's the real plan?_  he thought at Yusei.

 _Distract Divine while I find Aki, and when you have your chance, kill him._  Kiryu heard Yusei think to him.

 _Got it,_  Kiryu agreed in his head.

"I'm gonna call Jack now and tell him."

* * *

 

Antinomy and Placido rode in silence the rest of the way, until Jack's phone rang and woke the sleeping couple in the back.

"Hmm?" Jack answered with a sleepy whine as Bruno stirred.

"It's Yusei," Jack said, sitting up more alert. "He's in Aki's town. What was that? They're going to rescue her and he wants us to have a hotel room they can escape to. Alright, Yusei, I'll text you the address when we find one. Okay, not close to her town. Bye."

"I want separate rooms," Placido said.

"Sorry, bro. That's not in the budget."

"I'll pay for it."

"That's not in the rules for the road trip."

"Fuck your rules. I have money and I want a private room."

"You want to fuck me that badly, huh?" Antinomy grinned.

" _Private_  room. Just me. You all are on your own."

"What if I threaten to call the police if you don't let me in?" Antinomy had meant it to be flirty, but a second later he realized how much of a douchebag remark that was.

" _Excuse me?!_ " Placido practically breathed fire.

"If you're going to be an asshole I'm going to be an asshole right back," Antinomy said simply, showing no signs of the low feeling in his stomach.

"Pull over again, I'm leaving!"

Antinomy locked the truck doors.

"Please let him leave," Jack sighed, and Placido snapped his head around to glare at him.

"Hey Bruno, you'd better watch out," Placido said in a stony voice. "If you ever upset Jack in any way, he'll leave you and sleep with a crap ton of people just to make you jealous and hurt you."

"Placido!" Jack hissed, and Bruno looked questioningly at Jack.

"Well, that's what you did to me, you fucking bastard! Don't think I forgot! And the fucking funniest thing is that it worked and I was actually hurt and wanted you back, even though you were so shitty to me!" Placido turned back in his seat. He willed himself not to feel that pain again. No weakness.

Jack's face was bright red from anger and embarrassment. But he didn't say anything because he didn't want to lie to Bruno. And Bruno decided he didn't want to hear it at all, so he too remained silent, staring out the window aimlessly.

* * *

 

_Placido's room was large and extravagant. He had a large canopy bed with silk drapings. All around the room were lit candles setting the mood. Placido lay in bed, naked except for the white sheet draped over him elegantly. It was their first Valentine's Day, and Jack had made this ritual very romantic. Tonight, they did whatever they wanted; no kink or fetish was out of bounds. That was why Placido had chosen something Jack had always refused- a strip show. And not just any strip show, Jack had to wear a sexy Lolita costume. Or maybe something else. It was his turn first so he could think of something really degrading later._

' _I want you to wear this,' Jack said, exiting Placido's large walk-in closet in a professional tux get up, glasses and all, holding out a schoolgirl outfit._

' _Really, Jack? You have the power to make me do anything and you want me to dress up as a schoolgirl?'_

' _Yes. I like it.'_

' _I can do that any day. Pick something else.'_

' _I pick this.'_

_Placido snorted and rolled his eyes._

' _Fine, whatever.'_

' _No boots though. Thigh high socks.'_

' _OoOoOoh~ what a change!' Placido snorted sarcastically._

' _Just shut up and put it on!'_

_Placido snatched the outfit from Jack and put it on while he watched. Then he started the role-play of schoolgirl and teacher._

' _Wait,' Jack stopped him suddenly, right as Placido was about to start his line. 'Put your hair into pigtails.'_

' _What? No way!'_

' _It's anything goes and I want pigtails.'_

See, now  _that's_  what I'm talking about, _Placido thought as he pretended to be annoyed (well, he_ was _a little annoyed, messing up his perfectly styled hair) as he quickly combed down his hair and gave Jack a pouty look as he styled the short pigtails._

' _There we go. Now, what was it you wanted to ask me, Placido-_ chan _?'_

 _Placido went through the (in his mind,_ boring _) ritual of acting like a schoolgirl and begging his teacher to give him extra credit. Jack-_ sensei _ripped his panties off with his teeth and fucked him with the skirt still on. It took a lot of effort on Jack's part to postpone his orgasm (he was waiting for Placido to come first) but soon it became apparent that Placido wasn't going to orgasm to this, so Jack finally let himself go._

' _Could you be less enthused?' Jack scoffed as Placido shed the skirt and cleaned himself with a towel._

' _You're boring me,' Placido sighed, and Jack snorted with fury._

' _You said 'anything goes' and this is what I wanted!'_

' _Well fine, you got it then, didn't you? Now it's my turn.'_

_Jack scoffed again and began putting his normal clothes back on._

' _What're you doing? That's not the outfit I want you to wear,' Placido said._

' _I'm leaving. I'm tired of your shit, Placido. We're done.'_

' _You can't leave! It's MY turn! That isn't fair!'_

' _Then next time pick someone who isn't as vanilla as me for a partner!'_

' _Excuse me for wanting to spice things up once in a while!'_

' _Fuck you, Placido. I don't need this.'_

' _You're such an asshole! You're a little shit!' Placido shouted more insults as he found things around the room to throw at Jack as he tried to leave._

' _YOU'LL REGRET THIS!' Placido shouted down the hall. 'YOU OWE ME!'_

_Jack responded with his middle finger, and that was that. He was gone._

_Placido slammed his door and burst into tears, knocking things over and breaking stuff. He was so upset that he couldn't control himself. When he was done having his little tantrum he flopped down on his bed to finish crying._

I was going to tell you I loved you tonight, you douchenugget…!

_For the first time, he really thought he was in love._

* * *

 

When they arrived at the hotel, Antinomy stayed in the car.

"You two go in and get a room," he said to his brother and Jack. "I want a word with this one."

Placido snorted as the other two got out of the car.

"Wow. Your brother seems really pissed," Jack whispered to Bruno as they walked to the lobby.

"You're not off the hook either," Bruno said snootily. "I want to know what happened between you and Placido."

"We had different interests," Jack said a little too fast. Bruno gave him a look.

"Look, you saw what he's like! I can't help it if I like to be… vanilla about things." Jack's cheeks turned slightly rosy. "And he's some kind of freak, and I wasn't having any of that. So I told him to fuck off. That's it."

Bruno still didn't seem satisfied with that. He leaned against the lobby wall, pursing his lips.

"I'm already finding it really hard to trust you, after everything, Jack. I just… I don't know." He folded his arms. "Am I an idiot? Am I vulnerable because you rescued me earlier and because I fall too easily for anyone who bats an eye at me?"

"What? Bruno, no…" Jack walked over to him pulled him into a hug, but Bruno didn't return it.

"What do I have to do to make it up to you?" Jack said, pulling away just slightly to look him in the eyes.

"Well for starters, you could have  _not_  dumped me at a gas station after fucking me-"

" _Please_  stop bringing that up. I've already apologized for that over and over and pretty soon the guilt trips are going to start hurting  _me_."

Bruno put his arms around Jack.

"Sorry. The wound is still fresh."

Jack kissed Bruno's cheek.

"I promise I won't keep any secrets from you, okay? From now on. No beating around the bush, no cover-ups, no bullshitting. Just honesty."

"Alright. That does make me feel better."

Bruno looked up and kissed Jack's lips.

"I'm gonna make sure that Placido guy isn't killing my brother," Bruno told him. "You get our room."

* * *

 

As soon as Jack and Bruno had left the car, Antinomy folded his arms and squared up to Placido.

"Alright. We need to work this all out now before something bad happens."

"I'll show you something bad. On your  _face!_ " Of course the quip gave away the punch Placido threw, so Antinomy was ready for it.

"You are a  _serious_  head case." Antinomy tried to grab Placido's arms.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me!" Placido hissed, trying to get a leg up so he could nail Antinomy right in his stupid face.

"I know you're keeping a lot of pain inside and it's destroying you," Antinomy grunted back, defending himself. "Anyone with a brain can read that off you. Seriously,  _no_  one bothered to send you to a therapist or something? You're a mess!"

"Right. And you're just the picture of perfection, huh?" Placido spat mirthlessly.

"Of course not. But I don't let my pain eat me away inside out. Look at yourself!"

This surprised Placido so much that he actually stopped fighting.

"You let- no, you  _want,_  you  _crave_  people to treat you like shit because you think you deserve it and you can't stand it when someone actually cares about you because it actually makes  _you_  feel and you can't handle feeling anything, not since Jack or your mom or-"

"Shut up!" Placido finally smacked him and Antinomy let him.

"That make you feel good?" Antinomy asked, rubbing his face.

" _ **NONE OF THIS MAKES ME FEEL GOOD, YOU ASSWIPE!**_ " Placido screamed at him, and he couldn't stop himself from crying. "You think I  _like_  being treated like shit?! I saw pieces of own mother's  _brain_  splattered on the pavement in front of me! And then I get sent to live with my rich as fuck uncle and get made a show pony for Yliaster! No one cares about Placido! And then stupid Jack came along and I thought he loved me and he fucking ripped my heart out and….!" Placido couldn't talk anymore. He'd given into weakness. Placido hid his face in his hands. Everything was spilling out. Damn this guy. Damn him and his stupid red goggles. What was up with those anyway? Who the fuck wore red goggles? What purpose did they accomplish?

Placido calmed down thinking about those stupid, useless red goggles. He wiped his face and got himself together just as Antinomy kissed him. He was so taken by surprise that he didn't even fight back.

"I care about Placido, okay?" Antinomy said. "I think you need to start caring about him, too."

Placido's breath caught in his chest. He glanced at the back windows to see that they were indeed tinted.

"Get in the back," he said, getting out of the passenger side and opening the back door.

"What?" Antinomy seemed confused and a little alarmed.

"Get back here, with me," Placido gestured with his head. "You're about to get  _so_  lucky."

Antinomy was back there before Placido had even finished his sentence.

* * *

 

_Unfortunately, although Jack and Placido were no longer seeing each other, Jack's father and Placido's uncle were business partners and that meant frequent visits, whether it be formal or informal. And each time Placido saw him with a different significant other. Boy, girl… it varied. It hurt each time. And each time Placido buried his self worth a little more until there was nothing left._

_His walk-in closet looked like it belonged to an expensive stripper. He'd dress up and sneak out to go clubbing- whichever club felt skankiest- and go home with anyone. He'd never let anyone come home with him because God forbid someone robbed the place… But basically, he'd have anyone who'd take him. No one wanted a relationship, and neither did he. Slowly, a fake confidence started building up. A mask. He stopped hiding at formal events. In fact he strutted right up to Jack to assert his dominance._

' _So. When are you gonna admit that you miss me and stop sleeping around and come back, Jack-y boy?'_

_Jack was so shocked that he and his date were both speechless._

' _I don't miss you,' Jack scoffed. 'And what's up with that outfit? Shouldn't you be manning some street corner in the red light district?'_

_Jack's date snorted into his drink. This didn't phase Placido one bit. There was no self esteem to hurt. Although Placido's self worth was gone, he still wanted Jack back, and he continued to pursue him, even after Jack stopped showing up at events and changed his contact information. He kept everything locked away, eating away at him from the inside._

* * *

 

"What's wrong?" Jack asked as Bruno returned, looking as though he'd just seen something very odd.

"I think Ant and Placido are having sex," he said with an air of wonder.

"What? In the back of your truck?"

"Yeah."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"You okay with that?"

"Yeah, I've fucked plenty of guys in the back of that truck. I mean…" His face turned red, but Jack grinned deviously.

"Let's go watch."

"Ew, no! That's my brother!" Bruno snapped.

"Well, I'm gonna go watch."

"No, wait!" Bruno grabbed his arm. "Please don't! That Placido guy is very unpredictable and I don't want to mess this up for Ant. He really likes that guy for some reason."

"Alright, fine." Jack turned back, only to cup Bruno's face and give him a kiss.

"This means we have the room to ourselves for a bit."

Bruno liked the sound of that.

* * *

 

As Yusei and Kiryu walked down the street, making their way to the block Aki was residing at, Kiryu couldn't help noticing a strangely shaped cloud that seemed to be following them. He glanced at it discreetly but periodically just to make sure.

Yes, Divine was spying on them! Brain waves were no longer safe. He'd have to transmit messages to Yusei through skin-to-skin contact. So, without bringing attention to himself, he slipped his hand into Yusei's.

 _Don't look, but we're being followed._  He sent the message through his body into Yusei's. Yusei had no reaction. Good, that meant he knew too.

In reality, Yusei's head was racing with conflicting thoughts. Kiryu was holding his hand. Yes, that wasn't a new thing but the way they were just walking in silence and Kiryu had just slipped his hand in ever so gently… But also, Kiryu was half (if not all) gone right then, so did this even really mean anything? Maybe Kiryu was doing it to keep aliens from abducting him. Yusei almost snorted at that thought but caught himself. He didn't want to break the comfortable silence. Not to mention that this thought was conflicted with 'does Kiryu still have feelings for Jack'? And on top of  _that_  mess, he was on a rescue mission to save Aki! Too many things were happening at once.

But that kiss on the cheek on last night… Yusei could almost moan in agony over how much he'd wanted those lips to be three inches east of the spot they were. He had gone to bed last night with one hand on his cheek and the other on his lips. Kiryu gave many hugs but kisses… Kisses weren't a thing. Kisses were sacred.

Yusei wasn't paying attention to his footing now. They stepped off the sidewalk onto the road, and when they met the next block Yusei tripped over the curb. Kiryu still had his hand and swung him up. No skinned or bruised knees today.

"You need to be more careful," Kiryu laughed as Yusei straightened up. It was so normal that for a second, Yusei forgot that they were on a rescue mission and that Kiryu was half out of his mind. In that second all there was was the neighbourhood, himself, Kiryu, and this beautiful day.

Yusei kissed him.

A full ten seconds of silence went by in which Kiryu processed this. Yusei's face remained close to his and his breath lingered on his lips.

"Is this a hallucination?" Kiryu finally asked in a whisper.

"No," Yusei answered back.

"Good," Kiryu replied. "Because if it was I'd never take my medication again." He closed the space between their lips again to continue their kiss, completely forgetting about anything else.

 _This is completely crazy,_  Kiryu thought. There was no way Yusei could be kissing him right now.

"I'm hallucinating you, aren't I?" Kiryu murmured between kisses.

"Nope," Yusei muttered back, taking hold of Kiryu's face to make his point clearer.

"I am… 100 percent… completely… out of… my mind… mmph-!"

Yusei forced his tongue into Kiryu's mouth to get him to shut up. Yusei tasted sweet, like candy. Had he been eating some in the car? No, this was crazy! Kiryu knew how to find out if this was really happening or if it was all in his head.

He bit down on Yusei's sugary tongue.

"Aaargh, you ass!" Yusei had immediately recoiled, one hand flying up to his mouth. "What the fuck, Kiryu?!"

"Wait, so this is all really happening?" Kiryu said, actually starting to believe it.

"Yes, you jackass! That fucking hurt!" Yusei was beside himself. He couldn't have anything good, could he? Not even a simple make out session with the man he'd been fawning over for years- no. Everything always had to go wrong. Somehow.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Kiryu pleaded. He got down on one knee and took Yusei's free hand, kissing it as a form of apology.

"What the hell are you doing?" Yusei sighed.

"I don't know. Just please don't be mad."

Yusei let out another sigh. He could taste blood in his mouth.

"It's not your fault. Come on, this was stupid. We wasted time and we need to go rescue Aki. I didn't mean to get sidetracked."

Kiryu stood back up. He looked determined as he took Yusei's hand back.

"Anything for you."

Yusei would've been lying if he said that that didn't make him swoon a little.

* * *

 

Divine loved control.

Right now, everything was under control.

Aki was in the basement, restrained until she behaved, because he just couldn't have a disobedient wife, now could he?

True, they were not actually married in the eyes of the government. Not yet. They'd been engaged for over a year. Aki had insisted that she finish school before marriage, even though Divine had stressed that he wanted her to settle down and be a housewife. If Aki had one fault it was that she had too much individuality.

He still couldn't believe that she had kept in contact with that Yusei scumbag. Obviously he told her lies about Divine to make her leave him, and that's why Divine had to do all this before Aki made a mistake. If he saw even a glimpse of that crabheaded freak he would call the police immediately. Divine knew he could get away with anything because he had Influence. It was this power he'd always had, a power over powerful people of influence. The police would not think twice about Yusei's accusations about Aki restrained in the basement. Hell, they wouldn't even bat an eye if they went down and looked at her tied up and gagged. He didn't know how he knew this, but he knew it was true.

That's what his delusional mind told him.

* * *

 

Kiryu approached the door with determination. He was doing this for Yusei. He had dressed up for this, and he had to do this right. He rang the doorbell and waited.

A man with oddly styled brown hair answered the door. He was well dressed, as if he was off to a fancy party somewhere, and looked intrigued to have a visitor.

"May I help you?" he asked with a smile.

"He knows you're working with Yusei, but don't panic. He doesn't know you know." Crow was by his side to help him.

"Good afternoon, sir," Kiryu started off politely. "I'm doing a survey for a college entrance research project. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to donate some time out of your day to help me?"

"Well, if it's for education, I suppose I could," the man said. "Come in, I'll help you any way I can."

Kiryu entered the house. It smelled like potpourri. Immediately Kiryu looked around for where the knives could be.

"So, what kind of questions do you have?" the man asked.

"What?" Kiryu said.

"Questions. For your college project?"

"Right." Kiryu took out a notebook from the messenger bag that he had brought with him.

"First, I need to know your name."

* * *

 

Yusei didn't like to brag, but he had gotten a full scholarship to the college he was going to for his computing and programming skills. He was a programming genius. That was why he'd spent the previous night programming an application onto Kiryu's cellphone that, when activated, would transmit a frequency that would interfere with any security devices that Divine used to protect his house without him knowing. This would allow Yusei to sneak in without notice. Yusei had taught himself how to pick locks so that wouldn't be an issue. He would just have to be as stealthy as a ninja.

His plan probably would have worked, if Kiryu had just stayed sane long enough.

Yusei was about to sneak up the stairs when he heard Kiryu scream, "I'll kill you!" and knew everything had gone terribly wrong.

Before Yusei even thought about what he was doing, he rushed into the kitchen where he had heard Kiryu's voice come from. He saw Kiryu holding a knife, and he took a swing at Divine who dodged him with the reflexes of a cat.

"Kiryu, no!" Yusei shouted, which surprised Divine enough for Kiryu to give him a scratch.

"I should have known  _you_  were behind this!" Divine spat, lunging for his phone. But the phone was all static.

"What the hell is wrong with my phone?!"

"Where's Aki?!" Yusei demanded.

"She doesn't want to see you!" Divine snapped. "Now get out of my house if you know what's good for you!"

"Kill him now!" Crow yelled at Kiryu, so Kiryu leapt forward again. Divine dodged him skillfully.

"Kiryu, stop!" Yusei urged, but then suddenly  _Divine_  had a knife, and then the knife was at Yusei's throat.

"Put the knife down or your boyfriend gets it," Divine said icily.

This was a true test of Kiryu's power over his own sanity. He mentally fought with himself for control. His impulse was to stab Divine, but something inside him was telling him no, because that would put Yusei in danger.

" _Do_  something!" Crow exclaimed impatiently.

Kiryu bit his lip and let the knife fall.

"Good boy," Divine said. "Now you're gonna tell me what's wrong with my phone."

"I don't know," Kiryu said. Divine pushed the blade right up against Yusei's skin, causing him to have a sharp intake of breath.

"Then give me yours."

* * *

 

Divine called the police. Kiryu cooperated as long as Yusei's life was threatened. Yusei wanted to tell him not to listen to Divine, to forget him and go find Aki, but he found that he had lost his voice.

If he died, who would take care of Kiryu? Jack? Maybe… Who would help Aki? No, he couldn't die and he couldn't get arrested without saving Aki. He had to think of a way out of this.

When the police arrived, they took Kiryu first. Divine explained that his house had been broken into and that he had been attacked.

"They're both completely insane. Don't listen to a word any of them say," Divine told them.

"He's lying," Yusei told the police calmly as he was handcuffed. "He's keeping a girl here against her will and we were helping her!"

"We do have to take every accusation seriously, even if it turns out to be fabrication," a police officer said to Divine. "Do you mind if we look around?"

"I do mind," Divine said a little impatiently. "I have a class tomorrow and I need to get started prepping for it. There is no girl here. These two lunatics broke into my house and attacked me."

"We only broke in because we hid a body in here!" Yusei said, an idea springing to mind.

"What?!" snapped Divine.

"A body?" the police officer raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry sir, but now we have to search your house.

"I demand a warrant!" Divine hissed.

"People with nothing to hide don't demand a warrant," Yusei smirked. For a spilt second, Yusei saw Divine's eyes flicker to the basement door.

"She's in the basement, isn't she?!"

"What?! No, she's not!" Divine snapped. The room went silent.

"So there  _is_  a 'she'," the officer said. "Alright, sir, we're going to need to have a look in your basement."


	9. Echo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiryu wasn't getting any better. Yusei has to take care of two mentally unsound people now, and he's losing his own grip on reality.

_**TW: violence, suicide mention, family problems, medical complications, might be other things so just be warned.** _

**9: Echo**

Kiryu's body felt heavy, way too heavy. His words dripped out of his mouth and spattered on the ground like pancake batter.

"How are you feeling today, Mr. Kyosuke?" a nurse asked.

"Pahn-cake," Kiryu said slowly, letting the word flow through his fingers like syrup.

"Are you hungry?" the nurse asked. Kiryu seemed not to hear her.

"Wirr-dzt," Kiryu replied, letting the letters sink through the spaces between his fingers. Time was irrelevant. In real time, he sat there playing with pancake batter words for three hours, but in his mind it was only a few minutes. Yusei was allowed to visit him in his room that afternoon.

"Kiryu?"

The sound of his name turned into blueberry muffin batter and floated in front of him like sideways rain. Kiryu tried to grab the batter but it kept slipping out of his hands.

"Oh my god, I've never seen him this gone before," Yusei told the nurse in alarm. "What did you give him?"

"We shot him with 100 mgs of Haldol," the nurse told him.

"Haldol? He's not supposed to have Haldol! It's right on the front of his file!" Yusei snapped angrily. "He's high as a plane!" Yusei sat down on Kiryu's bed and gently pulled him into his arms. Kiryu continued drooling and playing with air.

"He needs Thorzine, not Haldol," Yusei snarled. "It's on his file- God, don't you people read?!" The nurse looked highly offended, but Yusei didn't care. Right now he knew Kiryu was trapped inside his own mind and he wasn't going to let a bunch of strangers drug him up with the wrong drugs.

"Yuuz," Kiryu said.

"I'm here, Kiryu," Yusei told him, kissing the top of his head.

"Wahnt habbun?" he asked.

"You're in the hospital," Yusei told him, petting his hair. By now he was pretty good at translating Kiryu-nese.

"Wai punceek?" Kiryu asked.

"You're hallucinating," Yusei said. "The doctors gave you the wrong drugs. It will wear off soon."

"Ahb." Kiryu let his tired arms go limp.

"I love you, you know."

Yusei wasn't really sure why he said it now, of all times. Maybe because Kiryu couldn't really comprehend anything at the moment? Was he really that cowardly that he had to wait until Kiryu was incoherent to tell him how he felt?

"Ah labbu choo," Kiryu replied, slowly reaching up to touch Yusei's face. His fingers had saliva all over them. It was gross, but Yusei found it didn't really bother him.

"I wish I could stay here with you, but I'm not allowed," Yusei sighed. "I promise I'll be back first thing tomorrow, as soon as it's visiting hours."

When Yusei left he went to talk with whoever was in charge about Kiryu's medication.

* * *

 

After Yusei visited Kiryu, he immediately went to visit Aki at her hospital. She was doing fine physically, but…

"Aki, how are you feeling?" Yusei asked gently, setting a bouquet of roses by her bed.

"I want to die," she said in a flat tone, not looking at him.

Yusei's heart dropped. The rate at which a person could change was alarming. He was used to it with Kiryu, but Aki…

"I know things seem rough now, but everything will get better."

"Nothing will ever get better," Aki said, putting her head in her arms. "I'll never get my baby back."

There was nothing Yusei could say to that. The drugs Divine had force fed her to "control" her had caused her to miscarry, and Aki was completely broken. She never wanted to see Divine again and she was a complete mess. Her whole world had been turned completely upside down in one day.

Yusei sat on the bed and put his arms around her.

"How could this happen to me, Yusei?" she sniffed. "What did I do to deserve this? I thought I was doing everything right. I followed my heart. I stuck to my beliefs. I thought that was all you had to do to lead a good life. So why did I get struck with such misfortune? Why did this happen to me?!"

" _Why did this happen to me?"_  Yusei heard himself saying at the police station all those years ago.

"It's not your fault. None of this was your fault, Aki. It could have happened to anyone."

"But it happened to me. It happened to  _me_ , Yusei! It happened to me…"

"I know… I know… It happened to me, too." He rubbed her back comfortingly. "You're not alone in this, okay? I'm here. And so are Kiryu and Jack and everyone else. They're here for you, too."

"I wish I could just fast forward to the part where I feel better," Aki sniffed.

"Me too," Yusei sighed, kissing the top of her head. "Your parents are taking care of everything in court, so don't worry about that. You just get better."

"My parents…" Aki scoffed.

"They want to talk to you when you're better. Don't worry, I'll be there too."

"….Okay…"

Yusei stayed a little longer before he went back to report to Jack.

Taking care of two mentally unstable people was exhausting, especially when he wasn't too mentally sound himself.

* * *

 

The hospital agreed to switch Kiryu to Thorzine. However, the Haldol stayed in his system for another full day, but when Yusei visited him the next day he could tell it was wearing off.

"Hey, Kiryu. How you feeling?" he asked, sitting on Kiryu's bed.

"Everything's goin' so fast," Kiryu groaned.

"That's because you were injected with the wrong medication," Yusei said sweetly, but gave the on-staff nurse a seething look.

"Inj… Inja… Ninja." Kiryu said.

"Mmhm," Yusei agreed, stroking his hair lovingly.

Kiryu was pretty quiet for the remainder of Yusei's visit. The next day the awful drug should be out of his system.

* * *

 

The mood between Antinomy and Placido changed drastically, more so in Placido. Instead of being nasty condescending, he was nasty flirting. Placido would push Antinomy out of his way, then turn around and wink at him. He'd steal whatever piece of food Antinomy was eating and then give him a slap on the ass. He'd call Antinomy a rude name, like a loser, and then give him a kiss. It was almost maddening, but Antinomy was falling for it.

"How can you let him treat you like that?" Bruno asked Antinomy after Placido had blatantly stolen a crepe Antinomy had just bought for himself and justified it by pinching Antinomy's asscheek and walking away.

"That's a good question," Antinomy sighed, turning around to go buy another crepe.

"So you like that Bruno's brother is just letting you wipe the floor with him?" Jack snorted to Placido, walking ahead as Placido bit into the stolen treat.

"I'm not wiping the floor with him," Placido laughed. "He's just being the man you couldn't be."

Jack scoffed with indignation.

"You've got problems."

"I know. But he cares about them. So you can go fuck yourself." Placido smirked and turned to rejoin his boyfriend and tell him to get strawberry filling next time.

* * *

 

As Yusei predicted, the next day he visited a much more animated Kiryu.

" _Finally!_ " Kiryu cheered as Yusei opened his door, and he threw his arms around the other boy.

"Someone seems much better today," Yusei agreed, hugging him back.

"Now you can take me home," Kiryu said.

"Well… I can't really do that yet," Yusei told him, pulling away.

"What? Why not?!" Kiryu demanded accusingly. Yusei sighed. This happened frequently when Kiryu was switching medications in the hospital.

"You're still very sick," Yusei told him. "You have to stay here until you're well again."

"I feel fine!" Kiryu huffed. "I'm  _fine_. They just want to do experiments on me! I don't want to be experimented on!"

"It's saying things like that that will prolong your stay," Yusei told him. In the blink of an eye Kiryu lunged at him and knocked him down. He had been taken by surprise, and when he realized Kiryu was attacking him, he found he couldn't breathe because Kiryu was crushing his windpipe.

"You're not Yusei!" he spat. "You're that freak, Zone! Why are you doing this to me?! Where's Yusei?! I'll kill you!"

Yusei couldn't fight back. The world was slipping from his vision. But then everything snapped back into focus and the weight of Kiryu was lifted from him. Yusei coughed and gasped, breathing in deep lungfuls of sweet, delicious air.

"Get off me! Get off me!" Kiryu screamed, struggling as though his life depended on it. "That's not the real Yusei! That's Zone! He just made himself  _look_  like Yusei! Get off me! Grab  _him_!"

It took four nurses to restrain Kiryu and to force him into a straightjacket.

"What are you doing to him?!" Yusei gasped, still out of breath from almost being choked to death.

"Rules. You attack, you get the jacket. You attack again, solitary confinement," a nurse explained. They threw the restrained Kiryu onto his bed and held him down, since he was still struggling. Another nurse walked in holding a needle.

"Whoa whoa whoa! What is in that?!" Yusei snapped, jumping up. His voice was still raspy but he put himself between Kiryu and the needle.

"Antipsychotic," the nurse said. "Please step aside."

"Which one?" Yusei demanded.

"That is none of your concern."

"The hell it isn't!" Yusei snapped. "Tell me what that is right now!"

"Shut up, Zone!" Kiryu snapped from his bed. "This is what you want! Stop trying to make me believe you're Yusei, cuz you're not!"

"I'm not letting you drug him with something he reacts badly to!  _This_  is what happens when you do that!"

"He needs more Haldol."

"NO MORE HALDOL!" Yusei shouted. "THIS IS WHAT HALDOL DID TO HIM! NO. HALDOL!" It took a lot more arguing but Yusei was finally able to convince the doctors that Kiryu needed Thorzine. When they injected him, Kiryu screamed bloody murder and fought like his life depended on it.

"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" he screamed, thrashing uncontrollably. He was hyperventilating and Yusei feared he wouldn't get enough oxygen if he kept screaming like that. He was going to make himself pass out.

"Kiryu, please, calm down!" Yusei begged him. "You're going to make yourself sick! You need to calm down!"

"LET ME OUT! YUSEI! I WANT YUSEI!" He started to cry. He was definitely going to pass out if he started crying.

"I'll get Yusei! I'll get him, okay? Just calm down!" Yusei pleaded. Kiryu took heavy, rasping breaths.

"I'll go get him right now, okay?" Yusei told him. "Just calm down." It worked; Kiryu quieted down, and the nurses holding him down looked at Yusei with raised eyebrows. Yusei walked out the door, tied his jacket around his waist, and walked back in. Kiryu looked up and his expression changed dramatically.

"Yusei?"

"It's me, Kiryu," Yusei said exhaustedly. "Zone let me go."

"Get me out of here, please. I hate it here," Kiryu sniffed.

"You'll be allowed out, but not today," Yusei told him, sitting on the bed.

"Why not?"

"Because…" Yusei had to think of something fast. "Because Zone let me out today. He can't let anyone else out for a while so you'll have to stay."

"Oh…" Kiryu accepted this story so easily that the nurses looked like they'd been slapped in the face. "Well, if you're okay, then I guess I can stay here a bit longer." Yusei was touched, despite this all being in Kiryu's head. He bent down and kissed Kiryu's cheek.

"I'll be back tomorrow, I promise," Yusei told him.

"I don't want Zone to change his mind. Maybe you shouldn't come back," Kiryu said.

"Don't be silly, I'd never leave you, Kiryu," Yusei promised. "Never."

Yusei came back the next day to find that Kiryu was placed in solitary confinement.

"What happened?" Yusei demanded.

"The patient became violent when asked to take his medication, claiming it was just an experiment and screaming for us to free him."

 _He's not getting better,_  Yusei thought with worry. Had he let Kiryu venture too far into the insanity of his mind?

* * *

 

Placido was some kind of monster. Antinomy realized that he must have broken down some sort of barrier he was keeping up. When Antinomy least expected it he was grabbed and shoved against a wall, caught in a violent makeout session. It was startling at first but then he got into it. The passion got old quickly though, at least for Antinomy. Placido still seemed to want to jump on him all the time.

"Placido, this has got to stop!" Antinomy finally snapped after Placido yanked him into the bathroom of the hospital where they were visiting Aki.

"Excuse me?" Placido replied, offended.

"Look, I'm sorry if you're trying to fill some void here, but I can't take this constant love assault! You need to calm down."

Placido looked extremely insulted. He was so angry he couldn't even find words to yell so he just stormed out. Antinomy sighed and rubbed his temples. This guy was so much more trouble than he was worth. He followed Placido out of the bathroom to see that the group was following Yusei down the hall, so they must have gotten Aki's room number. He followed behind Placido but knew Placido was ignoring him.

When they got to Aki's room, Yusei introduced them all.

"This is Jack, Kiryu's cousin, and his boyfriend, Bruno. And this is Bruno's brother Antinomy and his boyfriend, Placido."

"Well, you found the gays," Aki said approvingly. "I knew you weren't alone."

"I'm not gay, I'm bi," Jack and Antinomy said at the same time. They looked at each other, and so did Placido.

"Yeah, yeah," Aki waved them off. "So, how's Kiryu doing?"

"He was put in solitary confinement."

"Oh, so that's why you're here early, huh?"

"Well…"

"She got you," Jack whistled.

"It's alright, I don't mind," Aki said.

Antinomy's eye caught Placido fidgeting in his seat. He looked very much like he wanted to leave.

"How is Kiryu?" Aki asked.

"Well... he doesn't seem to be getting better so we're going to hold fort for a while."

Placido crossed and uncrossed his legs.

"And of course, I want to stay here with you."

"Because everything fucking revolves around  _you,"_ Placido suddenly snapped, unable to keep it in any longer. "We went out of our way to fucking save you and now I'm stuck here with these bunch of douchewipes and the only reason I even came on this trip was to get revenge on Jack and you can't even do that right!" He gestured to Antinomy at that last part.

Everyone was stunned into silence. Placido got up and left shortly after his tantrum. Everyone looked at Antinomy.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding as surprised as everyone felt. "I don't know what his problem is."

Antinomy quickly followed Placido out of the room.

"Placido!"

Placido ignored him and kept storming off down the hall. Antinomy jogged to catch up to him.

"That was rude and uncalled for!" Antinomy snapped. He grabbed Placido's arm but Placido whipped it away from him.

"Don't touch me!"

"Oh, so now you  _don't_  want me to touch you?"

"You know what, Anthony? Fucking  _go home!_  I'm done with this bullshit!" Placido slammed open the doors to the stairwell and began marching down them. Antinomy grabbed Placido's hair; there was no getting out of that.

"Only Bruno calls me Anthony," he said dangerously.

"I'll call you whatever I want,  _Anthony!_  Now release-  _god fucking damn it,_ _ **shit**_!" Antinomy tightened his grip on Placido's hair. It felt as though he was about to have his scalp ripped off. Antinomy was not playing around.

" **Do not call me Anthony** ," Antinomy repeated. Even though Placido was in blinding pain, he managed to slip his hand into his pocket and pull out his ivory pocket knife.

" _GAAAHH!"_  Antinomy jumped back, letting Placido go and putting his hands to his face. "I'm bleeding, you jackass! What the hell was that?!"

"Good thing we're in a hospital," Placido snorted sarcastically, pocketing the knife before Antinomy could see what it was.

"You know what, Placido? Rot in hell for all I care!" Antinomy turned and stormed out, cupping his bleeding face.

When Antinomy returned to Aki's room, everyone fell silent.

"Anthony!" Bruno exclaimed. "You're bleeding!"

"Yeah. I noticed," he replied.

"Hey, don't take your anger at Placido out on your brother," Jack warned.

"Sorry. Placido's just-"

"An ass? Yeah. We all noticed."

Antinomy cleaned himself up and found bandages in a drawer.

"I'm really sorry about Placido, Aki," Antinomy apologized again.

"It's fine," she waved him off. "He's obviously got issues of his own. I know that spat wasn't really about me."

"Yeah, it was about me," Antinomy snorted. "God, why do I like that asshat? He's driving me insane! And he fucking cut me or something. I could legally press charges against him for this."

"So dump him," Jack said. "No one wants him on this trip anyway. I've had enough Placido already to last me the rest of my life, thank you very much."

Antinomy sighed. It seemed like the smart thing to do. Smart and sensible. If he was anyone else he probably would just dump Placido and be done with him.

"I can't," he moaned miserably. "He's so broken. I just keep remembering to when I was that broken and I just needed someone. Well, we both did." He gestured to Bruno.

Bruno looked horror-struck. All the color drained from his face.

"Anthony. We don't speak of that," he tried to say calmly. "Ever." Jack and Yusei both raised their eyebrows.

"Sorry. But... I just can't leave him this way, you know? Because I've felt that way..."

"Then go to him."

It was Aki who spoke up, and everyone turned to her.

"Obviously there's something about this Placido guy that you're just drawn to. So if you care that much, go back to him and fix this."

Antinomy was silent for a moment.

"Yeah. Okay." He left to go retrieve his boyfriend.

Antinomy made his way back to the stairwell and hesitantly went inside.

There was Placido in the same spot, hood up.

"Placido, come on, we're leaving."

"I thought you wanted me to rot here."

"Don't be stupid. Come on."

Placido didn't move or say anything. Antinomy made a noise of frustration.

"Why do you have to be this way?" he snapped. "One little thing doesn't go your way and you throw a tantrum? The world doesn't revolve around you, Placido."

Suddenly Placido started to laugh. It was kind of an alarming laugh and it made Antinomy feel uneasy.

"You think this is funny?"

"Hysterical!" Placido shrieked, holding his sides. "You broke me down, and then said you wanted to help me heal. But then when I try to cope with the aftermath of what I'm going through since you broke me down, you take that away from me too! So now, I don't have anything! Now I'm just broken! It's so funny I could die! I can't even breathe!" He was laughing and sobbing hysterically now and hit his head against the wall repeatedly. Antinomy rushed over and pulled him into his arms.

"Shhh…. It's okay now. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," Antinomy said, rocking him gently. Placido quieted down fast, and then the only sound was his sniffles.

"You made me feel again, you bastard," Placido sniffed. "You can't just do that and not take responsibility."

"Abusing me isn't a good coping mechanism," Antinomy replied, pulling away slightly so he could look at Placido's face. Even though he had been crying, he was still the prettiest man Antinomy had ever seen.

"I'm just going by instinct."

"You gotta learn to control yourself. If everyone acted on their instincts… well, I think you know the answer to that. But I'm a human being too and I have feelings just like you and you have to respect them. Okay?"

Placido nodded, wiping his face. Antinomy leaned in and gave him a kiss. He felt Placido's grip on him tighten.

"Please don't give up on me..." he whispered to him. Antinomy's heart caught in his chest at those words. He wasn't sure if he could promise that he'd stick with Placido through all his... Placido-ness. But he certainly wouldn't leave him because of his emotional trauma that was causing him issues.

"I'll be here as long as you need me," he answered. That answer seemed good enough for Placido.

* * *

 

This was turning into a nightmare. Kiryu didn't seem to be getting better. Today he claimed Crow had left him with his birdlings, and they took up all of Kiryu's attention as if he really did have five toddlers running and flying around to take care of. The problem was he was also  _at a mental hospital._  So when one of the birdlings flew away, Yusei had to leave and pretend to bring them back since Kiryu couldn't. This required a lot of signing in and out. Finally, the secretary at the front desk just gave Yusei a makeshift ID that let him through the door.

"You shouldn't encourage his delusions," she sighed as Yusei once again left to go retrieve Becky who had flown off chasing her brother, Sunday.

"I was there when he gave birth to them. I'm way past that," Yusei said, exiting the facility.

There were three boy and two girl birdlings. The girls were named Becky and June, and the boys were Sunday, Click, and Toast. Yusei didn't ask who named them. When he'd read up on schizophrenia, he learned that hallucinations were often named after random things, like days of the week or numbers, so he wasn't surprised.

When Yusei reentered the building pretending to have something under his arms, the secretary said, "Maybe you're crazy, too."

"That's a different issue," Yusei replied, going back through the entrance door. He walked through the hall and then out the door into the gated yard. Now where had Kiryu run off to?

He found him drawing with chalk, trying to keep the birdlings entertained.

"Here's Becky," Yusei said, pretending to set her down.

"Becky, don't run off like that again!" Kiryu scolded her. "Come here, look at the pretty picture Mommy's drawing."

It was weird for Kiryu to call himself a mom, but technically he  _was_  the one who gave birth to them. Yusei sighed and laid down on the grass.

"Click, don't eat the chalk! Aww, now look what you did!"

"When's Crow picking them up?" Yusei asked wearily.

"I don't know. Sunday, don't pull Uncle Yusei's hair. That's not nice. Hey, Toast! TOAST!" And Kiryu was off running again. This was exhausting.

 _This is my fault,_ Yusei thought, staring up at the sky.  _I let him drift too far into his delusions. Now he's so far gone that he isn't getting better._

To Yusei's relief, Crow finally picked up his birdlings and he had some time to relax with Kiryu.

"Being a parent is so stressful," Kiryu yawned, laying his head in Yusei's lap. Yusei's heart fluttered at the intimacy.

"Aki's meeting with her parents tomorrow," Yusei said, absentmindedly stroking Kiryu's hair.

"Ah. That's nice. How is Aki doing?"

"She's... well, she's coping. But she's not good, Kiryu. She lost her baby."

"She can have one of mine," Kiryu said.

"I don't think it works like that. But thanks for the thought."

Suddenly Yusei found his head leaning down. He was fixated on Kiryu's lips. The intoxication was overwhelming.

No. This wasn't right.

Yusei stopped short a few inches from Kiryu's face and leaned back with a sigh.

"Well, that was disappointing," Kiryu pouted, and Yusei looked back at him. "I thought you were going to kiss me."

Yusei stared at him and Kiryu stared back.

"D-Did you want me to kiss you?" Yusei stuttered, his cheeks turning rosy.

"Well, yeah," Kiryu replied, reaching up to caress Yusei's face.

Yusei fought with himself for a moment. Kiryu wasn't sane enough for this, but... God, he wanted it so much! He leaned down and pressed his lips to Kiryu's. Before he knew it, Kiryu's arms were around him and their tongues were intertwining. Yusei couldn't help but moan softly, pressing his body against Kiryu's desperately.

"Alright, break it up you two!" A staff member came over to yell at them. They pulled away and the orderly gave them a stern look.

"Sorry," Yusei apologized, but he wasn't sorry at all. In fact, his face almost hurt from the smile that seemed to have been permanently etched on his face. Kiryu rested his forehead against Yusei's. They were still holding each other close; partly because it felt nice and partly to hide the fact that making out had gotten them both a little... excited.

"I have to go soon," Yusei said as the clock ticked nearer to the end of visiting hours.

"I'll miss you," Kiryu whispered back.

"I'll come over after the meeting with Aki's parents, I promise."

He gave Kiryu a last quick kiss before standing up. Kiryu didn't let go of his hand.

"I know I'm not well, but you make me feel like there's nothing wrong," Kiryu said before letting him go. Yusei's heart melted.

"Get well soon," Yusei said. "The faster you get well, the faster you get out of here and the faster we can... continue that makeout session."  _Or more,_  Yusei thought.

Kiryu nodded.

"Anything for you, Yusei."

* * *

 

"I'm scared, Yusei…" Aki whispered. "I haven't seen my parents in years. What are they even going to say? What are they going to think? I ran off with a crazy man who brainwashed me, got me pregnant, and then killed my baby…"

Yusei took her hands reassuringly.

"They're your parents. They'll love you no matter what. And you've just been through a trauma. I'm sure the last thing they'll want to do is anything but give you love and support."

"You weren't there the night they threw me out…" Aki sniffed, wiping her face. "They hated that I became a Witch, but they hated Divine more. They said he… well… actually looking back what they said about him was probably true, and I probably should've listened… God, Yusei, I feel like a giant mess. All I want is my baby back, and I kind of want to throttle Divine too."

"I hate to say this, Aki," Yusei said, "but you've been very fortunate that you haven't had to deal with anything like this before. But now that you do, you don't have to alone."

"I'm sorry," Aki sniffed. "I'm sure you or Kiryu have had worse things happen. I mean, I was fine up until now. I thought everything was perfect."

"That's just it. You  _thought_  everything was perfect, but it was really a delusion. Our problems aren't any bigger or smaller than yours."

"That's such a you thing to say. How long are you even staying here? I keep meaning to ask, it's been like a week..."

"Well, Kiryu doesn't seem to be getting any better so Jack is looking for a place to rent temporarily. We're not sure how long we'll be here."

"Lucky Jack is rich."

"That's not the kind of luck I want right now."

There was a knock on the door. The two best friends froze. That had to be Aki's parents. Yusei felt Aki squeeze his hand.

"Come in!" Yusei called, and the door opened.

Aki hadn't seen her parents in years. They looked older than she remembered. Before she could even say anything, her mother burst into tears and flung herself around her, accidentally knocking Yusei completely away and off the bed. The next hour was a blur of "sorry"s and "should have"s and tears. Yusei mostly kept quiet and stayed for the support, but after an hour it seemed like they were beginning to be a family again.

"Is it okay if I take off?" Yusei asked, getting anxious to check on Kiryu.

"Sure," Aki said. "Yusei... thanks."

Yusei hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

"I'll see you later, okay?"

* * *

 

Yusei was never sure what to expect when he visited Kiryu. But he sure wasn't expecting this.

"I'm here to see Kiryu," Yusei said as his daily ritual.

"Someone's already beaten you to him," the secretary chuckled, signing him in.

"Who, Jack?"

"No. The person said his name was Crow something."

Yusei froze.

"Did you say 'Crow'?"

"Yeah. Look, his name is right here." She pointed, and sure enough, in rough scribbling was the name "Crow Hogan."

 _Am I losing my mind?_ Yusei thought, finishing signing was no way that could be real. Crow was Kiryu's hallucination.

 _Kiryu's so crazy he's seeping into me,_ Yusei decided. But still, he couldn't help but become anxious as he approached Kiryu's room. And when he got to the door, there was definitely a voice coming from in there that wasn't Kiryu's.

Yusei flung the door open. Kiryu was in bed, like a hospital patient, and a guy who looked like he belonged to a biker gang was sitting on Kiryu's bed. His hair was bright orange and spiked, exactly the way Kiryu described his hallucination.

"What the fuck?" Yusei said, his legs feeling numb.

"Well, that's rather rude," Crow snorted. "I take it you're Yusei?"

"Oh my god," Yusei gasped, grabbing his head. "I've lost it. I've really lost it this time."

"Chill out, bro," Crow said. "I'm the real Crow, not the hallucination. Sit down and I can tell you the truth before you wet yourself."

Yusei sat down in a chair, looking as though he'd seen a ghost.

"I'm a childhood friend of Kiryu's. I moved away before you moved in. And Kiryu tells me he has a hallucination of me, apparently, which is probably why you're freaking out like the world is about to explode. So calm down."

The feeling was slowly coming back into Yusei's body. When he could think clearly again, he turned to Kiryu.

"Crow was a real person and you never thought to tell me?!"

"Would you have believed me?" Kiryu replied. Yusei didn't know how to answer that. But then he said, "Don't you have any pictures of him from when you were younger?!"

"I don't like my picture taken," Crow replied. Yusei ran his hand down his face.

"I just... I... I don't know how to process this. How did you know Kiryu was here?"

"I didn't. I was driving by on my motorbike and saw him outside. I couldn't believe my eyes, but I pulled over and swore that that guy in the mental hospital field looked exactly like my childhood friend Kiryu, and I had to go in and check if there was a Kiryu Kyosuke here. Sure enough, to my surprise, there was. What a world."

Yusei's head was starting to hurt. Kiryu was showing no emotion.

"I never thought you'd end up in the loony bin. What'd you do to end up here, Kiryu? Aside from hallucinating me." Crow seemed amused by all this, and that pissed Yusei off.

"He's very sick and I've been taking care of him," Yusei replied coolly.

"Well, you've been doing a very fine job of taking care of him. You landed him in the loony bin."

This Crow was turning out to be as rude as the hallucination Crow. Yusei suppressed his urge to punch this guy in the face. Even though this guy was smaller than he was, he looked tougher. He had tattoos and piercings and looked like he was just picked off the streets. Yusei would've bet money that he had brass knuckles hidden on him somewhere.

"He'd be a lot worse if it wasn't for me."

"He'd probably be a lot better if it wasn't for me," Crow laughed, and suddenly Kiryu looked scandalized, just like that day Jack had let slip he was bipolar. He kicked Crow and shushed him, but the damage had been done.

"You've been keeping more things from me?" Yusei accused Kiryu, hurt.

"It's not like that! Yusei, we-!"

But Yusei had already gotten up and had his hand on the door. His emotions were flying and his mind was becoming numb. Everything was too overwhelming.

"Yusei!"

Yusei slammed the door behind him.

* * *

 

When Yusei got to the hotel, Bruno was the only one in the room. The shower was running, so Yusei guessed Jack was in there. Antinomy and Placido must have been out somewhere. Something in Yusei's mind seemed to... slip.

"Hey, Yusei," Bruno said a little awkwardly. "Um, Jack found a place we could rent but we wanted to make sure it was okay with – mmphhh?!" Bruno was cut off because Yusei had grabbed his face and smashed their lips together. He was so caught off guard he couldn't react, and somehow Yusei pulled him over to the bed and got on top of him. And the worst part was... Bruno didn't really want to stop him. Although he was with Jack and liked him... Yusei was the one he originally fell for. Making out with him just felt so right.

They didn't hear when the shower was turned off. In fact, they barely heard when Jack opened the door of the bathroom wearing only his towel to get retrieve his clothes. He stopped short upon seeing the betrayal unfolding on the hotel bed.

Jack cleared his throat loudly, and the two flew apart.

"J-Jack!" Bruno squeaked, suddenly aware of what he'd been doing. Jack gave him an angry, hurt look, grabbed his clothes, and left without a word.

 _What did I just do?!_  Yusei thought wildly. He'd been so upset over Kiryu keeping Crow and stuff they did a secret, that his mind had just went blank. He couldn't even explain it. Why'd he kiss Bruno? To get back at Kiryu or something?

Bruno sighed and sat down on a bed, rubbing his face.

"We need to talk," he said.

"I need to lay down," Yusei replied, laying in the opposite bed, trying to wrap his head around what just unfolded.


	10. Summer Shudder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has different coping mechanisms. Most of them aren't good, however.

_**TW: self harm, suicide mention, death, lots of upsetting stuff so just be warned.** _

**10: Summer Shudder**

A blond sat at a bar taking shot after shot after shot. It wasn't enough to numb the sting of betrayal. He almost didn't notice when someone started talking to him.

"…Hey. Can you understand me? I think you've had too much to drink."

Jack turned to see a shorter man with tattoos all over his body. His hair was flaming and spiked and he wore a leather vest like he was in a biker gang or something.

"Do I know you?" Jack asked grumpily.

"Doubt it. The name's Crow Hogan."

That made Jack laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"My cousin has schizdoblardia and he hallucinijates a guy named Crow," Jack answered, unable to say any large words coherently.

"You're Kiryu's cousin? Ah, that must mean you're Jack."

"…I really have had too much to drink… now  _I'm_  hajucitating Crow…"

"Nope. I'm the real deal." Crow sat on the bar stool next to him. "I was Kiryu's childhood friend. I moved away in middle school. Apparently he has a hallucination of me."

"Right. Okay."

Crow could tell that Jack didn't really believe him. Well, maybe he could have some fun with this.

"Why are you here alone instead of with your friends?" Crow asked, turning on his charm.

"My boyfriend likes Kiryu's boyfriend better," Jack sulked, slurring all his words. "He fucking cheated on me, bastard…"

"Well…" Crow tiptoed his fingers up Jack's arm. "Maybe you should get back at him."

Jack snorted.

"That's such a Crow thing to say," he said to himself, taking another shot.

"Well, I  _am_  Crow," Crow replied, his hand making its way to Jack's face. He traced Jack's jawline and leaned in seductively. Jack was so drunk and upset that he didn't even care whether Crow was real or not. He let Crow suck him into his lustful trap.

* * *

 

Yusei and Bruno were sitting in silence on opposite beds. Neither one wanted to start the conversation they knew had to happen. The conversation that started with-

"What now?"

Yusei turned his head to see Bruno looking straight back at him determinedly. Yusei could tell that his eyes pleaded for Yusei to answer with something like, "I love you!" or, "Let's be together!" But that wasn't true, and that wasn't what he wanted. He'd just been upset and he wasn't thinking… God, he messed everything up  _again_.

"…I'm sorry…."

Yusei looked away and closed his eyes, letting silent tears pool from them.

Bruno jumped up.

" _Sorry?_  You're  _sorry_?! Yusei, you can't just do something like that and… and not take responsibility!"

Yusei turned so his back was facing Bruno.

"Go back to Jack. It was just a stupid kiss. I forced myself on you. It was my fault, not yours. He'll forgive you."

"It wasn't a stupid kiss!" Now Bruno was crying too. "Yusei, when you kissed me, it felt…  _real_. Like it was meant to be. That's not something I feel with Jack. You can't tell me you didn't feel it too!"

Yusei sat up and wiped his face. Then he looked at Bruno.

"Bruno, I like you. But… I'm in love with Kiryu. I always have been, and I always will be. I'm sorry but… that's just the way things are…"

Yusei could tell that that hit Bruno really hard. He could see the heartbreak in his eyes.

"I can't be here right now." Bruno got up and raced out of the room. Yusei pulled a pillow over his head and bit his lip to stifle his sobs.

He'd ruined everything. He'd ruined  _everything_. God, he hated himself. He  _hated_  himself.

* * *

 

Bruno ran down the hall, his vision blurred because he was crying so much. In the end he couldn't go farther than the end of the hall so he sat down there and cried.

Everything was out of control. Everything was so confusing. He had feelings for Yusei but he also had feelings for Jack; the two feelings were different yet he couldn't separate them. And both boys had messed up his relationship with the other. How was that even fair? Jack had messed up his chance with Yusei, and now Yusei had ruined his relationship with Jack. Now he was alone. And he couldn't be alone. Because when he was alone…

Suddenly there was some sort of commotion down the hall. Bruno looked up and dried his eyes enough to see that Jack had returned. Maybe he should go talk to him… He stood up, but then he saw that Jack wasn't alone. Jack had someone pressed up against a hotel door. A short redheaded punk looking guy, and they were making out and groping each other!

Bruno put his hands in front of his mouth as he felt his heart being ripped out once again. Jack was already with another guy?! Wait, hadn't Placido said something like this would happen, because it happened to him? Bruno's legs felt numb as he realized that everything Placido said must have been true.

Without another sound, Bruno turned and left.

* * *

 

It was a brisk night. Antinomy wanted to take Placido out for a romantic evening. It seemed like he didn't get much of those.

"This is stupid," Placido tried to complain when Antinomy led him up to the local shopping district.

"Come on. Just try to enjoy being romantized, just for tonight. You might like it."

"Is 'romantized' even a word?"

Antinomy stopped pulling Placido to look at him.

"Look, I know you said before that you don't like being treated like a prince or whatever, but if I have to treat you like crap all the time to get you to be attracted to me, then the least you can do is give me one night where I can treat you right. You deserve it."

Placido's cheeks turned red and he looked away. Antinomy couldn't help but smirk.

"…Fine. Do whatever you want. I'll give you this day."

Antinomy kissed Placido's hand, which made him roll his eyes, but then he began kissing up his arm which prompted Placido to say "hey!" and then made his way to Placido's neck, which of course made him weak-kneed and tendered up.

"Damn you and your knowledge of all my erogenous zones!"

"You made it pretty easy to find out."

Antinomy bit Placido's ear which sent him reeling.

"Hey hey hey! That's unfair!" Placido whined, his voice soft.

"You're right. Sorry, Your Majesty."

Placido gave him a look that said "the fuck?" but also "yeah, that's right, you better call me that, bitch."

Antinomy led Placido to a somewhat upscale restaurant. He acted like a true gentleman, holding the door open for Placido, pulling his chair out for him and then pushing him in. It was disgusting. It was disgusting because it was so cliche and sappy and Placido found himself falling for it.

"Order anything you want," Antinomy said. "My treat."

"You really don't have to do that," Placido said. "I have money flowing out my ass. You work for your money. Keep it."

"No. I want to treat you. It's more special that way."

"Really, Antinomy. I eat expensive shit. I couldn't ask you to pay for that."

"Now who's being the gentleman?"

Placido's face turned scarlet.

"Fine! I'll order whatever I want! It won't be cheap! Idiot."

Antinomy couldn't help but smirk. Placido was pouting and acting so… Placido.

True to his word, Placido's order was extremely costly. Antinomy had to admit to himself that this would be a big hit on his bank account. But it would be worth it, to treat Placido. He'd probably never been treated like this before.

While they were waiting for their food, Antinomy decided to small talk.

"What's it like being the face of such a huge company as Yliaster?"

This, however, turned out to be the wrong choice of topic. Antinomy could tell right away by the look on Placido's face.

"I'm a fucking show pony," Placido spat. "I do nothing but look pretty to help sell shit. I don't even get to drive the cars we sell. My uncle doesn't give a damn about me or my shit little cousin."

"Your cousin?"

"Lucciano. He's twelve and he thinks he owns the world. He's a little brat and heir to the company since he's a direct bloodline. I'm just a substitute until he grows up enough to act responsible."

Antinomy noticed that Placido was looking away with bitterness.

"You seem upset. Do you want to be the heir yourself?"

Placido let out a snort of dismissal. However, he didn't answer. It was that moment, luckily for Placido, that their food came.

"You're not off the hook," Antinomy said, starting on his food. Just for the hell of it, he ran his foot up Placido's sleek booted leg. Placido kicked him without even looking up.

Halfway through the meal, Antinomy heard his phone text tone for Bruno go off. He supposed he should check it, just in case something had happened. He took out his phone and read the message.

Antinomy dropped his fork.

"Oh my god," he said, and Placido looked up.

"What?" Placido asked.

"We have to go.  _Now!_ " Antinomy jumped up and shoved on his jacket. "Placido, do you have cash? I'll pay you back. Just throw down $250 and come on!"

"What the hell?!" Placido demanded.

"My brother's trying to off himself!" Antinomy hissed.

"What? Shit…" Placido quickly whipped out his wallet and threw down five fifty dollar bills. He had barely pocketed his wallet again when Antinomy grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door.

"Keep the change!" he yelled as he ran out.

* * *

 

Bruno took a cold, deep breath.

He'd decided.

He just couldn't do this anymore.

With tears still running down his face, he texted a goodbye to his brother, telling him he was going to jump off the Seaside Bridge.

' _I'm sorry. I love you but I can't take this anymore. Goodbye, Anthony. I'll tell Johnny you say hello._ '

After he sent the text, he started walking in the direction of the bridge.

Johnny had drowned, so he would drown too. That made sense in Bruno's mind. An eye for an eye.

He wouldn't cause anymore trouble for Yusei or Jack. It was clear that no one would ever love him. And even if they did, he couldn't be trusted with love.

As Bruno approached the bridge, the wind began to pick up. He had stopped crying. He felt like a zombie. Soon he'd feel nothing at all.

Except as soon as he reached the bridge, someone tackled him to the ground.

"Get off me, Ant!" Bruno struggled.

"What the hell are you thinking, Bruno?!" Antinomy panted, holding him down. "'You scared the living shit out of me! Jesus Christ, if I hadn't come here right away… What the hell's the matter with you?!"

"Everything," Bruno sobbed, bursting into tears again.

"What happened? Did something happen with Jack?"

Bruno nodded.

"Placido was right. I… there was an incident with Yusei… he kissed me… but I didn't stop it. Jack saw and left and later he came back with another guy. Just like Placido said he would. Placido was right…"

Antinomy got off Bruno and let him sit up properly.

"Ah," Antinomy suddenly said, whipping out his phone. "Speaking of Placido, I need to call him and tell him I got you. He's manning the other side of the bridge."

Antinomy whipped out his phone as Bruno wiped his face.

"Hey," Antinomy greeted his boyfriend. "I got him. Come to the other side of the bridge." He hung up.

"Wow. Placido actually cares about me?" Bruno said sarcastically.

"He does, actually. Placido is sweeter than you think. He just buries his real self deep inside."

"Mmhm. Right."

Bruno sounded like he was on autopilot. Antinomy realized that there was still a lot to talk about. He put his hand over his brother's.

"Bruno," he sighed, "I don't know what I would have done tonight if I lost another brother. Please don't ever scare me like that again. I just… I can't lose you. I can't. And Johnny definitely wouldn't want that either. He didn't die for you so you could throw your life away."

Bruno looked down.

"I'm sorry. Everything is just…. too much for me right now…"

"I know it seems like that now, but it's nothing you can't work through."

In the distance, Antinomy could see Placido approaching.

"Come on. We'll go back to the hotel. You can get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning. I promise."

* * *

 

Jack didn't remember how his clothes had gotten on the floor, but somehow they were, because  _he_  fell on the floor with the feisty ginger on top of him and he was definitely on a bunch of clothes.

But something felt… wrong about this.

This guy, despite being hot and sexy…. well, he just wasn't Bruno. As the ginger reached for his boxers, Jack realized that he couldn't go through with this.

"Stop. I can't do this."

He was starting to sober up now and was realizing that this was indeed a real guy, not a hallucination.

"Stop? Now?"

"Yeah. Sorry. I just… I can't do this."

Jack pulled away from him and started finding his clothes.

"You can't be fucking serious."

"I am. I have a right to say no whenever I want."

Crow made an annoyed sound of dismissal, then rummaged around to find Jack's coat.

"Fine, here's your fucking coat! Get out!" He threw it at Jack.

"I paid for this room."

Crow was furious. He shoved his clothes on, gave Jack the middle finger, and slammed the door behind him snarling, "Asshole!"

Jack sighed, sitting back against the bed. That had been a shitty thing to do, but then again this whole situation was shitty. After all, Bruno had only been kissing Yusei, and they had broken apart when they noticed Jack glaring at them. He was sure they wouldn't have done anything else. And here he was, about to have sex with another guy.

What a shitty thing to do.

He needed to talk to Bruno, and maybe Yusei too. But first, he  _really_  needed a cigarette. He rummaged through his jacket for his pack but couldn't find… well, anything.

_That son of a bitch robbed me!_  Jack realized with fury. Well, he'd worry about that later. He was itching for a smoke and he knew Kiryu still had a few packs and his lighter in his jacket, which was in the other hotel room. Jack finished dressing and then exited the room to go back to his original hotel room. He wondered if Bruno and Yusei were inside. Should he knock?

No. If they were doing something he'd catch them at it. Jack slid the card key in and unlocked the door. When he opened it, immediately he smelled something weird. A little like burning. Was something burning in here?

Jack walked in and saw exactly what was causing the smell.

" _Yusei! What the fuck?!"_  Jack ran over and grabbed the lighter out of his hand. Yusei put up a struggle, but it was a weak one because his arms were both completely covered in burns. All thoughts of having a smoke were completely gone. Jack threw the lighter out of sight and held Yusei down.

"What the fuck's the matter with you?!" Jack demanded, trying to remember where the first aid kit was packed.

"I fucked up," Yusei said in a monotone. His gaze was unfocused, like he wasn't all there.

"Jesus Christ…" Jack muttered. "You've been hanging around Kiryu too much."

Jack hurriedly tore apart their suitcases searching for the first aid kit. When he found it, Yusei had his hand on the lamp lightbulb.

"Get away from there!" Jack snapped, putting his arm around his waist and pulling him away. He took out the Neosporin and squeezed a glob onto Yusei's arm. Finally, Yusei showed signs of being in pain. He winced and whimpered like a puppy.

"It's going to hurt. You fucking lacerated your arms."

He coated both arms and wrapped them in bandages. He'd have to remember to get a new Neosporin since three-fourths of it was now on Yusei's arms. Then he grabbed the keys to Kiryu's car, picked Yusei up bridal style, and left the room to take him to the hospital.

By now Yusei was barely conscious and incoherent. Jack didn't really know much about burns, but he hoped they weren't too severe or anything.

He was only half way down the hall when Antinomy burst through the stairwell doors like a hurricane. He looked ready to kill.

"What the hell is this?!" Antinomy exclaimed, gesturing to Yusei.

"This is a bad time," Jack said, trying to sidestep him. However, Antinomy didn't let him go.

"Did you do this to Yusei because he kissed Bruno?"

"What? No! Yusei did this to  _himself_. He needs to go to the hospital. Please let me pass."

"I don't believe that for a second! And I have a bone to pick with you!" He shoved Jack back. "I told you that if you ever hurt my brother again I'd break your face!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"He saw you hooking up with some ginger skank just because he didn't stop Yusei kissing him. Placido was damn right about you! You have no respect for your partner's feelings. You're a scumbag and if you ever come near Bruno again I  _will_  break your fucking face!"

By now doors were starting to open as people were looking to see who was causing such a commotion.

"Look, first of all, I didn't sleep with the ginger guy. We just made out but then I sobered up enough to tell him to get lost. It wasn't right but really wasn't all that much worse than what Bruno did. Second, I fully intend to talk things out with Bruno later. But right now I need to take Yusei to a fucking hospital and if you don't get out of my fucking way I swear to god I will fucking re-seduce Placido and steal him from you, and don't think that I couldn't. I stole Bruno and I can steal Placido. We've already been lovers. So get the  _fuck_  outta my way!"

Finally, this seemed to get through to Antinomy. Jack could see immediately that he had no doubt that he could steal Placido back.

"Move!" Jack yelled. Antinomy obeyed disdainfully. Jack kicked open the stairwell door and raced down it.

This was a fucking shitty ass day.

* * *

 

Antinomy returned to his hotel room, in a different hotel. Placido was keeping an eye on Bruno, who was sleeping when Antinomy got back. Placido got up as if to talk to Antinomy outside, but Antinomy shook his head and shut the door. Placido gave him a questioning look.

"I don't wanna talk about it right now," Antinomy whispered, kicking off his boots. "I just wanna go to bed." He climbed into bed and isolated himself under the covers.

Placido was very confused and suspicious. Antinomy was acting weird. Maybe he lost the fight? What had happened?

Placido slipped into bed and tried to get close to him.

"Antinomy, what happened?"

"Nothing. Go to sleep." He scooted away from Placido.

Placido was hurt, which he translated into anger.

"Fine, if you're going to be an asswipe I'm going to get my own room!" Placido jumped out of bed, shoved on his boots, and left.

"…Ant? What happened?" Bruno asked sleepily.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," Antinomy told his brother.

"I miss Johnny…" Bruno said, rolling over.

"Me too," Antinomy sighed, taking his goggles off and setting them on the end table.

* * *

 

_It was a cold, winter day. The snow was piled high and the frozen pond gleamed in the sun. No school today._

' _Faster! Faster!' Anthony laughed, holding onto the edges of a sled as his older brother pulled._

' _This is as fast as it goes, Anthony,' Johnny said, pulling as hard as he could._

' _Mush! Mush!' Anthony said. 'Let's find Bruno'_

' _I think he's by the pond,' Johnny said, and he headed that way. As they approached they saw a small blue-headed figure walking towards the pond… and then on it._

'' _Bruno!' Johnny shouted, letting go of the sled and speeding towards the pond._

' _Hey!' Anthony pouted, getting out of the sled and pulling it behind him as he followed his brother._

' _Bruno, get away from there! That's dangerous!' Johnny yelled._

' _It's fine,' Bruno waved him off, sliding to the middle of the pond. 'It's frozen solid. See?' Bruno stomped on the ice. There was a loud crack and Bruno screamed as the ice split like a spiderweb._

' _Anthony, go get Mom!' Johnny ordered, and Anthony ran back to the house as fast as he could in the snow._

' _Bruno, don't move. Everything will be okay.'_

' _I'm sorry,' Bruno sniffed._

' _It's okay.'_

_Johnny tested the ice. No, it definitely wouldn't support his weight. The best bet was for Bruno to try to get off it himself._

' _Move very, very slowly towards me,' Johnny said._

_Bruno moved his foot slowly and the ice creaked and cracked more._

' _Help, I'm scared!' Bruno sobbed._

' _Just stay calm, Bruno,' Johnny said. 'Try to come forward again. Slowly.'_

_Bruno moved his foot forward and the ice broke. He fell straight through._

_Thinking quickly, Johnny pulled his red ski goggles over his face for some protection and jumped in after him. This way, he could see in the water. He took his gloves off and grabbed his brother, pushing him up into the only break in the ice so he could breathe. Bruno wasn't strong enough to pull himself out of the water. It wasn't until five minutes later that Anthony came running back with his mom at his side, holding blankets. Bruno couldn't move and was shivering so bad he could have been having a seizure, but he survived._

_No amount of CPR or warming up with blankets could bring Johnny back to life._

* * *

 

When Antinomy woke up, his hand was on top of Johnny's goggles on the end table. He groaned sleepily and sat up, realizing he was alone in bed.

_Right… Had a spat with Placido…_  he remembered. He suddenly felt something drip down his face. Was he crying in his sleep?

"Ugh," he groaned, wiping his face. This was already turning into a disgusting morning. He turned to see Bruno still sleeping in his bed. He didn't want to leave Bruno alone, but he really wanted to go make things right with Placido. Then again, he didn't even know which room Placido had rented for the night.

Antinomy sighed and laid back down. He held the red goggles over his head.

_What do you think of us now, Johnny?_  he thought. He closed his eyes.

"Anthony?"

Anthony. The name he only let his family call him.

For a fleeting moment, Antinomy thought Johnny had called to him. But then the voice came again and he realized it was Bruno.

"Hmm? What, Bruno?"

"You're sleeping with the goggles again."

Antinomy looked and saw that he had fallen back asleep and the goggles had fallen at his side, his hand still around them.

"Yeah, well… It's been an upsetting night."

"….Sorry. Where's Placido?"

"He's…. We had a little spat and he's in a different room."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Maybe you should go talk to him."

"I don't want to leave you by yourself."

"Anthony, I'm fine now. Well, not really fine, but I'm better. I won't do anything stupid. I'm just going to go back to sleep. So go to him, okay?"

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes. Just… Can I have the goggles for a bit?"

Antinomy gave a soft smile.

"Of course." He handed his brother the goggles.

"Thanks." Bruno smiled. "I promise, I'll be fine. Go find Placido."

"Okay," Antinomy finally gave in. He got up and kissed Bruno's forehead before slipping on his jacket and boots and leaving. He didn't know which room Placido had taken so he went to the front desk to ask which room was under "Yliaster." It turned out Placido had rented the most expensive suite in the hotel (of course) and it was on the top floor. Antinomy took the elevator and made his way to the door. He took a deep breath and knocked.

It took Placido a while to answer the door. He opened the door and stood with his arms crossed, dressed in a fluffy white robe.

"Can we talk?" Antinomy asked.

" _You_  can talk," Placido replied. " _I'm_  listening."

"I'm sorry about last night," Antinomy said. "Jack said something that really upset me. Something about you."

Placido raised an eyebrow.

"So you believed him?"

Antinomy scratched the back of his neck.

"He threatened me by threatening to re-seduce you. And… I guess I just got upset because I wondered if he could…"

"So basically, you don't trust me."

"I didn't say that!"

"You didn't need to." Placido stepped back and tried to slam the door in Antinomy's face, but Antinomy stuck his boot in the doorway.

"This conversation isn't over."

Antinomy forced his way in and shut the door behind him.

"This relationship began because we both wanted revenge on Jack, and you still had pretty clear feelings for him. So I need to know. If Jack turned around and sincerely begged for you back, would you leave me for him?"

"How dare you ask me something like that?!" Placido seethed.

"That wasn't an answer."

Placido looked daggers at him.

"You want an answer? Fine!" Placido grabbed Antinomy by the collar of his shirt and yanked him down, pulling him in for a deep yet somewhat violent kiss. Then he shoved Antinomy away and said, "There's your fucking answer! Now get the fuck out!"

Antinomy glared back at him and then suddenly, in a rush, had his arms around him and his lips against his. They growled at each other as they made their way to the deluxe bed. There was no talking, just body movement. As it turned out, Placido had on only silk boxers under his robe. Antinomy fucked him with the robe spread out under him.

However, something unexpected happened.

"A-Anthony…" Placdio moaned as he came, panting afterward. Antinomy stopped in his tracks. Placido was still basking in pleasure and didn't notice anything was wrong. When he regained himself, he noticed that Antinomy was getting dressed.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Placido asked with a pout.

" _What the fuck do you think you're playing at?!_ " Antinomy shouted, and Placido recoiled at the unexpected yelling.

"What? What the hell's wrong with you?!" Placido snapped back, alarmed.

"You called me my fucking name in bed!"

"So? I thought that was sexy. Maybe something is wrong with  _you_."

"There  _is_  something wrong with me! No one is allowed to call me that name except family. That means Bruno. No one else. No. One."

"Well, why the fuck not?!" Placido snapped.

"Because my name was the last thing my brother said to me before he died!"

The room echoed with silence. Antinomy realized too late what he'd said. He continued to dress and then got up to leave.

"Wait."

Placido had his robe on again and he got up and pulled Antinomy back to the bed.

"You had another brother? Who died?"

Antinomy shook off his hold and looked away bitterly.

"I really don't like talking about it."

"I told you my story. This is a two-way street."

Antinomy fidgeted with his hands. He guessed he did owe Placido an explanation of some sort.

"Bruno and I are twins, but we had an older brother named Johnny. We looked up to him and thought he was just the greatest person ever, like siblings are supposed to feel towards one another while growing up. Then when Bruno and I were twelve and he was sixteen… we were outside playing in the snow and Bruno got stuck in the middle of the ice of a pond. The last thing Johnny said to me was 'Anthony, go get Mom.' So I did. And when I came back holding blankets in case someone fell through, Bruno was sticking out of the ice convulsing with shivers and Johnny was under the ice, holding Bruno up through the only air hole…" Antinomy had to stop. Talking about this was so upsetting he felt nauseous. He stood up and paced around to calm down.

"I'm… sorry…" was all Placido could say.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore, okay?" Antinomy said, his voice a little higher than normal.

Placido sighed a little.

"All I wanted was to be more intimate with you. I feel closer to you when I use your real name…"

Antinomy had to admit that that was a nice gesture, especially on Placido's part.

"I'm glad you want to be more intimate. But you can't call me by my real name. Sorry."

Placido laid back on the bed. He wouldn't push the subject any further.

"I'm going to go back and check on Bruno. I'd like it if you'd come by," Antinomy said, pulling on his boots.

"Yeah, yeah," Placido said, waving him off. "I need to take a shower first."

Antinomy walked over to kiss Placido goodbye and then left. Now that Antinomy was gone, his attention was brought to something that he'd been trying to ignore.

_There are fucking spots in my right eye,_  Placido thought to himself, rubbing his eye. Surely this was something that would go away…?

* * *

 

_How did it come to this?_  Jack wondered as he left the court building with papers for Aki to sign. He was now in charge of all the errands since Yusei was incapacitated. He had to take care of Aki's court stuff, check in on Kiryu, and then see what condition Yusei was in. Aki's court crap took most of the day, and by the time he got the papers to Aki and told her about Yusei, visiting hours at the mental hospital were over. Jack hoped Kiryu would be okay missing a day. Besides, there was no rush to tell him about what happened with Yusei. That could very well cause him to regress.

Meanwhile Yusei was a complete mess. He barely said anything or showed any emotion when Jack visited. It was as though he was on autopilot. And Jack didn't even see Bruno, his brother, or Placido at all, so he still hadn't had the chance to talk things out with Bruno.

Finally, after two days of craziness, Jack was able to find time to visit Kiryu.

"I'm here to see Kiryu Kyosuke," Jack told the receptionist. She looked at her list of patients and said, "Sorry, sir, but it says here he was released this morning."

" _What?!_ "

Without thinking, Jack grabbed the clipboard from the receptionist.

"Hey!" the receptionist protested, which Jack didn't even hear. He was looking at the line that said:

_**Kiryu Kyosuke released to Crow Hogan** _

Kiryu didn't have a phone. He didn't know any of their cell phone numbers by memory. He didn't know which hotel they were staying at. And Jack didn't have  _any_  contact information on Crow.

"Did this Crow Hogan guy leave any contact information?"

The receptionist snatched back her clipboard and said, "No," in a somewhat rude voice.

"Oh my god…" Jack said out loud, horror settling in. "My cousin's been kidnapped…!"

"He wasn't kidnapped," the receptionist snorted. "He knew the guy he left with. Said they were childhood friends."

"So what, you just released a mentally ill patient to some unknown person and you didn't get any contact information from them?! What kind of place are you running here?!"

Jack was so angry. He wanted to yell at someone, but what good would that do? Should he go to the police? Well, Crow  _did_  steal from him. But what if everything was okay and it was a misunderstanding? He didn't want Kiryu mad at him.

What Jack really needed right now was to talk to Yusei, but he wasn't sure if Yusei would be much help, the way he was now.

_Damn it, Yusei! Why'd you have to go be stupid and land yourself in the hospital now of all times?! This is where you need to be responsible!_

Jack decided to go back to his hotel room to get a few things, and then he'd go visit Yusei in the hospital. However, when he got to his room, Bruno, Antinomy, and Placido were waiting for him.

"Why didn't you tell me Yusei was in the hospital?" Bruno demanded.

"What's it to you?!" Jack snapped back, in no mood to deal with this right now.

"What do you mean, 'what's it to me?' I care about Yusei, and if he's in the hospital I want to-"

" _Look,_ " Jack interrupted him, "You three are not part of our group. I don't have to tell you guys  _anything_. In fact, maybe it's better that the three of you just go home and let us continue this trip the way it was originally supposed to be. I don't care anymore. All I care about is that my cousin is missing and I need to find him, so get the fuck away from my door before I  _make_  you."

Bruno's face turned bright red and he looked like he was about to cry.

"Don't talk to my brother like that!" Antinomy started to shout, but Placido talked over him.

"Kiryu's missing?"

"Yeah. I went to the hospital today and they told me he was released to his childhood friend, Crow Hogan. They have no contact information on him and Kiryu doesn't have his cell phone and doesn't know any numbers by memory. So as far as I'm concerned, he's missing. Yusei can't help look for him because he's in the hospital, so now if you'll excuse me I have to go look for my cousin since I'm the only one who can!" Jack pushed Antinomy out of his way to open the door. Antinomy made a movement to fight back but Placido grabbed his wrists. Jack disappeared inside.

"Come on, let's go," Placido said, trying to herd the two distraught brothers away from the door and out of the hotel.

"Why are you sticking up for him?!" Antinomy demanded angrily when they got outside, ripping his arm from Placido's.

"I'm not," Placido said. "I didn't want him to hear. I know who Crow is. We can use this to our advantage." He looked at Bruno.

"This is your choice, Bruno. What do you wanna do?"

Antinomy also looked at his brother. He could see him thinking, thinking hard.

"Who do have feelings for, Bruno? Jack or Yusei?"

Bruno sighed.

"I don't know," he said miserably. "But… I think we should help Jack find Kiryu. Anyway, it doesn't matter if I like Yusei, because Yusei's in love with Kiryu. So for Yusei, I'll get Kiryu back."

Antinomy and Placido both looked at each other. This was the first they were hearing of this.

"Yusei loves Kiryu?"

"Yeah. He told me. He said he liked me but he loved Kiryu. So, maybe I like Jack and love Yusei. Or maybe it's the other way around. I can't really tell. Either way, I want Yusei to be happy. We have to find Kiryu. It will make Jack happy, too."

As noble as he sounded, Bruno looked completely miserable. Antinomy walked over and gave him a hug.

"You're such a good person, Bruno."

"Yeah, I'm a fucking angel."

Antinomy ruffled his hair.

"Johnny would be proud."

* * *

 

"So, where are we going?" Kiryu asked, walking with his old childhood friend.

"I know a place," Crow said. "It's good to see you so animated again. It weirds me out to see you so immobile in a hospital bed."

"I wish I knew where Yusei and Jack were," Kiryu sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll find them," Crow comforted him. "In the meantime, let's have some fun. I have money I am just  _dying_  to spend!"

"You didn't steal it, did you?" Kiryu asked blatantly. Crow only smirked. "Still as bad as ever, I see."

"You know me."

"Still, I don't feel right spending stolen money."

"Relax, Kiryu. This guy owed me anyway. I was just taking what was mine."

"Well…"

"Come on, I know someplace fun!"

And before Kiryu could protest, Crow had him by the wrist and was dragging him down a very questionable alley.


	11. Reach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where, oh, where has my Kiryu gone?
> 
> Also Placido forgot to use condoms.

**_TRIGGER WARNINGS:self harm mention, drug use, sexual assault?, regular assault/violence, possibly others but those are the main ones I caught._ **

 

**11: Reach**

 

“ ** _KIRYU’S MISSING?!_** ”

 

Perhaps, Jack thought as the heart rate monitor started beeping so furiously that a nurse ran in, he should have told Yusei this information in a different way, other than "Kiryu’s gone missing."

 

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Yusei told the nurse, trying to get out of bed. 

 

“Sir, you need bed rest! Please calm down!”

 

“I can’t calm down!” Yusei shouted. “I have to find Kiryu! Jack, how could you be so irresponsible?!”

 

Although this was the most coherent Yusei had been since he had landed himself in the hospital, Jack was completely outraged at that statement.

 

“ _Me_ irresponsible?!” He swelled up with fury. “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t thrown yourself on _my_ boyfriend when you practically already had a boyfriend of your own! And _then_ you have some psychotic manic episode or something and land yourself in the hospital and _I_ have to go around doing everyone’s chores! I’ve had to take care of Aki’s court crap all week _and_ I had to keep checking on _you_! If anyone is fucking irresponsible it’s _you_ , Yusei! I know you’re only eighteen and Kiryu and I are twenty-one slash two, but Jesus fucking Christ, _grow up!_ ”

 

The entire room was silent except for the heart rate monitor’s beeps. The nurse quietly exited the room. Jack was so furious he was shaking. 

 

“You’re right…” Yusei said quietly. “It’s all my fault… and I hate myself…”

 

“No no no no! You can’t keep doing this either!” Jack snapped, but in a much calmer tone. “You sitting here hating yourself doesn’t fix the problem or prevent future problems. You need to change, Yusei. You can’t keep acting like this.”

 

“Okay, here’s an idea,” Yusei said in a sarcastic tone. “You get diagnosed with manic depression and _then_ come talk to me about how to act!”

 

“You don’t know anything about me,” Jack said. And then he left, but not without first telling a nurse that Yusei should be put on suicide watch. He didn’t want another burning incident.

* * *

 

 

“Where are we?” Kiryu asked as they entered a place that smelled of smoke and rang of loud bass music.

 

“My favorite club,” Crow told him. “You’ll like it here. You’ll fit right in.”

 

 _Somehow, I don’t think so,_ Kiryu thought as they passed a seedy-looking group of guys smoking something that definitely wasn’t a cigarette.

 

“Uh, Crow… I don’t really…”

 

But Crow wasn’t listening. He sat at the bar and the scary barman greeted him like an old friend.

 

“Crow the Bullet, my man! It’s been a while! I was beginning to think they locked you up again.”

 

“Nah, no one can catch me,” Crow bragged.

 

“You’ve been arrested?!” Kiryu spat.

 

“Hey, who’s your pretty friend?” the barkeeper asked, gesturing to Kiryu.

 

“This is Kiryu, an old childhood friend of mine. He’ll have the Crow Bullet special.” He winked at the barkeeper and motioned for Kiryu to sit down.

 

“I really shouldn’t drink while on medication,” Kiryu said, sitting down. Well, Yusei wasn’t here to be responsible for him, so someone had to be.

 

“One drink won’t hurt,” Crow waved him off. “And I’ll have what I always have.”

 

 _I guess one wouldn’t hurt…_ Kiryu decided. _Just one drink._

 

“So what’s this about you being arrested?” Kiryu asked again as the drinks were being concocted. 

 

“Sometimes Crow the Bullet doesn’t always make a clean getaway,” Crow shrugged.

 

“So, more stealing?”

 

“I can neither deny nor confirm that.”

 

Trying to get a straight answer out of Crow was like pulling teeth. Frustrated, Kiryu changed the subject.

 

“I was arrested, too.” Maybe if he opened up more, so would Crow.

 

“Really?” Crow seemed genuinely surprised. “What for?”

 

“I stabbed someone in an alley.”

 

“Whoa, geez man. And you’re giving me heat for pickpocketing.”

 

“I wasn’t myself at the time. You are yourself when you steal.” The drinks came and were passed down to Kiryu and Crow.

 

“So is that how you ended up in the looney bin?” Crow asked, taking big swigs of his drink.

 

“I’ve been hospitalized multiple times. I have schizophrenia. At the time, I thought I was on an island called Satellite and that Security, the officers of the law there, were after me, and I needed to take them down. I thought that guy was a Security officer, so I tried to kill him. Then Yusei found me and I thought he was conspiring against me so I tried to kill him, too.”

 

“So did anybody die?”

 

“No, thank goodness. I was arrested but I was completely delusional. They took me to the hospital and put me in a straitjacket and shot me up with sedatives.”

 

“Nice.”

 

“It wasn’t nice. I could have killed someone that night, Crow. I could have killed Yusei…” Kiryu took a sip of his drink. It wasn’t bad, for an alcoholic drink. 

 

“So how’d you end up in the hospital this time?” Crow asked.

 

“I tried to kill a guy who was keeping a girl in his basement. The plan was to distract him so Yusei could save her, but I was under the delusion that Yusei secretly wanted me to kill him.”

 

“Geez, you with the killing people. You’re dangerous, man.”

 

“I know.” Kiryu sighed and took a large gulp of his drink. “I should be locked away forever in a padded room, away from society. One of these days… Crow… I’m really scared that one of these day I’ll just break and I really _will_ kill someone. I don’t want to kill anyone.”

 

“Then… just don’t kill anyone,” Crow said, and Kiryu snorted into his drink.

 

“It’s not that simple. You don’t understand what it’s like to be under a delusion. When I’m gone like that, my brain tells me “this is the way things are, this is what is happening” and in my head it _is_ happening. No amount of logic or sense can convince me otherwise because these delusions are written in my brain as fact.”

 

Crow had finished his drink and ordered a second one. Kiryu was starting to feel kind of funny. He’d only had half his drink.

 

“I don’t think I should drink this anymore,” Kiryu said, pushing it away.

 

“If you don’t drink it all, the drug won’t work right,” Crow said, starting on his second drink.

 

“What? What drug?”

 

“Ecstasy.” 

 

The room was definitely spinning now.

 

“You put Ecstasy in my drink?!”

 

“Yeah. I told you we were going to have fun today.” Crow smiled genuinely, as though he was doing Kiryu a kindness, and pushed his drink back to him. “Drink up and you’ll stop feeling so sick.”

 

By now it was getting hard for Kiryu to think. He drank more of the drink and his stomach stopped flipping and the room stopped spinning so much. Kiryu was trying to be angry at Crow for drugging him, but he was finding it hard to be angry about anything right now. In fact, everything was wonderful! He had absolutely no worries in the entire world! He’d never been so relaxed and joyous before!

 

“Crow…” he said with a wide smile and a giggle. Crow could tell that the drug had kicked in.

 

“Do you want me to show you a good time?” Crow asked.

 

“Yeah,” Kiryu nodded dreamily. “I wanna do everything.”

 

“Wow, you hooked an easy one this time,” the barkeep snorted.

 

“He really is my childhood friend,” Crow said. “So I’ll be… _somewhat_ respectful.” He took Kiryu by the wrist and led him further into the club, where all the music was coming from.

* * *

 

 

*FWUP*

 

That was the third time today Placido had accidentally knocked into something. He cursed and rubbed his head. Damn spots in his eyes.

 

“You’re such a klutz today,” Antinomy teased him. Placido scowled at him. He turned and ran right into Bruno.

 

“Gahh!”

 

Placido was really starting to get pissed off now.

 

“Watch where you’re going!” he spat, rubbing his eye again.

 

“Placido, I think you need to watch where _you’re_ going,” Antinomy said as a hurt-looking Bruno scuttled away before Placido could do any more damage to him. “You keep bumping into things on your right side and rubbing your right eye. Is there something wrong?”

 

“I’m fine! I’ve just got a headache, that’s all,” Placido lied, but now up close Antinomy could tell that there was something wrong with Placido’s right eye. It wasn’t dilating like his left eye. When Placido realized Antinomy was examining his eye and not leaning in to kiss him, he pushed him away.

 

“The hell are you doing?!” he snapped, offended.

 

Antinomy put his hand over Placido’s left eye and held up three fingers.

 

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

 

“None, once I break them off!”

 

Placido shoved him away again.

 

“Why are you being such a dick about this?” Antinomy asked. “If something’s wrong with your eye, you need to get it checked by a doctor.”

 

“I told you, I’m fucking _fine_. Now, do you want to find this Crow guy or not?”

 

Bruno was still cowering in a corner, away from Placido. 

 

“Fine, but I’m not giving up about your eye.”

 

“Whatever.”

 

Placido began typing on Antinomy’s laptop.

 

“These are the directions to the bar we used to go to.”

 

“‘We used to go to’? You mean you were friends with this guy?”

 

Placido rubbed his eye again.

 

“Look, I know him, okay? Can we just leave it at that?”

 

“No,” Antinomy said, folding his arms. “Did you have a relationship with him?”

 

“It wasn’t a relationship,” Placido told him exasperatedly. “I used to go to that club a lot and so did he and a little… group sort of started.”

 

Placido wouldn’t say any more, so Antinomy had to keep prying.

 

“What did your “little group” do exactly?”

 

Placido looked very uncomfortable.

 

“Well, it was a bar, so we drank. And a club, so we danced.”

 

“And is that all?”

 

“Why does it fucking matter?!” Placido slammed his hands down on the table. 

 

“It matters because you’re obviously trying to hide something from me!” Antinomy said, staring him down. “You’re the one who said this is a two-way street, remember?”

 

“Well, hey look! A dead end!” Placido said sarcastically, storming out of the hotel room to go back to his private one, alone.

 

Antinomy let out a snort of frustration and then jotted down the address from the computer. 

 

“Well, this is a good place to start,” Antinomy said. “Come on, Bruno. We have a Kiryu to find.”

 

Bruno, who had been quietly cowering in his corner, finally stepped forward. 

 

“I still don’t know why you put up with that guy.”

 

“Who, Placido?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, that makes two of us.”

* * *

 

 

In the elevator on the way to the top floor, Placido found that suddenly he was overheated. He rapidly broke out in a sweat. He shed his hallmark white hoodie, but that barely helped. His vision seemed even more fucked up than it had earlier. If he could just make it to his room…

 

Placido stumbled out of the elevator. His body felt heavy and weak. What the hell was happening? Dehydration maybe? He used the wall for support and took deep breaths, willing himself not to pass out. He could feel his clothes becoming soaked with sweat. His stomach was churning terribly but he had to will himself to at least make it to his room.

 

Finally, after what seemed like the longest journey of his life, Placido was at his door. He shakily got out his key card and slipped it into the door lock. He stumbled inside and immediately into the bathroom to throw up. Then he lay on the bathroom floor, panting.

 

 _The fuck is wrong with me?!_ Placido thought wildly. _There was blood in my vomit. I’m pretty sure that’s not a good sign. There’s no way this could be… No, it can’t happen to me… I never got tested but… Shit. No. There’s nothing wrong. This will pass. I’m overreacting. I don’t have it… I don’t have it…!_

 

In the back of his mind, Placido knew. But there was no way he would admit it. He could feel more vomit rising from his stomach so he sat up to throw up again. Then, with shaky hands, he took out his phone.

 

_What do I do now?_

* * *

 

Jack had gone back to the police station to report Kiryu missing. All they could do was put out an Silver Alert and keep an eye out for the person Jack described. He didn’t bother reporting the theft; Jack didn’t want even more court stuff to deal with. 500 dollars was nothing. He’d already called his father and had him cancel the credit cards that were stolen. That left his and Kiryu’s emergency ones. He could always get more cash at an ATM. Right now, he just needed to find Kiryu.

 

On his way back to his apartment, his phone began to ring. Thinking it was something Kiryu-related, he answered it immediately without even looking at the caller ID.

 

“Hello, Jack speaking.”

 

“…….Jack………..”

 

Jack instantly recognized Placido’s voice. But he sounded… weird. 

 

“Placido? Are you okay?”

 

His breathing sounded labored.

 

“I don’t… I don’t think so….”

 

Placido was saying each word very slowly and a bit slurred, almost like he was really drunk. Was this a drunk call?

 

“Where’s Antinomy? Is he okay? Where are you?” Jack’s mind start jumping to bad conclusions.

 

“I’m in my room and I’m really sick and I don’t want Antinomy to know.” 

 

Now Jack was confused. Maybe he and Antinomy had gotten into a fight and he went out drinking and did something bad that he didn’t want Antinomy to know about?

 

“You’re in _your_ room? You have your own room?”

 

“Please, just come to the hotel on 31st street. I’m on the top floor, room 1001. I think I need to go to the hospital…”

 

Jack stopped walking. It occurred to him that Placido was probably trying to seduce him. He knew what had happened between him and Bruno, and now he had his own room and said he didn’t want Antinomy to know. This was just a ploy to get him to come over.

 

“Placido, I don’t have time for this! I have to find my cousin before something happens to him! If you’re really sick, get Antinomy to take you the hospital!”

 

“I don’t want him to know. Please, it’s… personal. I called the front desk and told them to give the spare key to my room to Jack Atlas Godwin.”

 

Jack had to admit, if Placido was acting, he was doing a very good job.

 

“I swear to GOD, Placido, if you’re just really drunk and this is a ruse to get me to come to your room, I will fucking _give_ you a reason to go to the hospital!”

 

Suddenly Jack heard what sounded like someone throwing up, and then the phone clattering as if it had fallen to the ground.

 

“Placido?!”

 

He heard a thump and then nothing at all. Placido hadn’t hung up the phone though.

 

“Placido?! Hey, Placido?!”

 

He wasn’t answering. Jack hung up with a noise of frustration and began heading to Placido’s hotel. Placido had better be deathly ill, because if he was going to make Jack go all that way to see him, he was going to the hospital one way or another.

 

“Jack Atlas Godwin, here for room 1001,” Jack said, showing the receptionist his driver’s license. She checked it and then handed Jack a key card. He took the elevator to the top floor and made his way to Placido’s room. He knocked first and said, “Placido? I’m coming in. You’d better be wearing something and it better be appropriate.”

 

He opened the door. None of the lights were on. 

 

Of course, typical Placido.

 

“Game’s over, Placido! This isn’t fucking funny!” Jack snarled, flipping the light switch on. He stomped into the bed area but found that no one was in the bed.

 

“Placido?!” He checked the room and almost passed by the bathroom, but decided to glance in. He did a double take and turned on the light.

 

“Oh my god, Placido?!”

 

Placido was lying on the floor, eyes rolled back, and his body was shaking violently.

 

“What the- Jesus Christ!” Jack rolled him onto his side. He’d never seen someone have a seizure before and wasn’t sure what to do. You were supposed to keep them on their side, right? Panicking, Jack whipped out his phone to call for an ambulance. No time to try to drive Placido himself. This hotel was blocks away from his.

 

So Placido _had_ been telling the truth… But why didn’t he want Antinomy to know about this?

 

 _We ought to just rent out a floor of the hospital,_ Jack thought with frustration as he waited for his 911 call to go through.

 

* * *

 

 

“I don’t like the look of this place,” Bruno whispered to his brother as they walked down several unsavory streets trying to find address Antinomy had written on a piece of paper.

 

“Well, it doesn’t surprise me, considering Placido’s history, I suppose…” Antinomy sighed.

 

“His history?”

 

“Uh… well, it’s his business. After Jack broke up him he kind of… went off the deep end and did a lot of questionable things. This is apparently one of those questionable things.”

 

“Well, I guess we have that in common,” Bruno muttered bitterly. 

 

“I suggest you don’t follow in Placido’s footsteps. He’s pretty messed up now, if you couldn’t tell.”

 

“Well, maybe you haven’t noticed but I’m not doing so great either.”

 

“I’ve noticed, Bruno. That’s why I’m warning you.”

 

Bruno was silent the rest of the walk. Maybe he wanted to go crazy for a bit. He wouldn’t be extreme like Placido. Just enough to get Jack and Yusei off his mind.

 

“I think this is it,” Antinomy said, looking up at an old neon sign that said X-TASTY.

 

“What the heck kind of name is that?”

 

“A strip club one, maybe?”

 

Bruno really didn’t want to go in, but at the same time he wanted to do something reckless.

 

“It’s our only lead for finding Kiryu,” Bruno said out loud, as if trying to justify his decision. He started walking down the dirty steps to the entrance. Antinomy followed right behind him.

 

It appeared to be a bar with some kind of club in the back. The barkeeper gave them a suspicious look when the two brothers walked in. Antinomy had on Johnny’s goggles which kept his face looking neutral and concealed his identity a bit. He walked right up to the barkeeper and said, “Do you know a Crow Hogan?”

 

“Are you guys cops?” the barkeeper asked.

 

“No,” Antinomy replied.

 

“Yeah, I know him. Who wants to know?”

 

“I have business with him.”

 

The barkeeper looked around.

 

“Crow don’t do that no more,” he said.

 

“Do what?” Antinomy asked truthfully.

 

“The service you are asking for. He’s done with that. He works for himself now. You’ll have to look elsewhere.”

 

“I think you misunderstand,” Antinomy replied. “I just need to talk to him.”

 

“Crow don’t talk to just anybody. You tell it to me and I’ll tell ‘im.”

 

“It’s a private matter.”

 

“Mr. Hogan is busy at the moment. Come back later.”

 

Antinomy narrowed his eyes.

 

“Tell me where he is or I _will_ call the cops,” Antinomy threatened. 

 

“I ain’t got nothing to hide.”

 

“Then you won’t mind if me and my brother go have a look around.”

 

“Get out of my bar!” the barkeeper yelled, and two large guys in suits and sunglasses began to walk towards them menacingly.

 

“He’s in here, find him!” Antinomy said to Bruno, shoving him in the direction of the club. “I’ll hold these guys off.”

 

“A-Ant…!”

 

“Go!”

 

Bruno didn’t have time to stick around. He shot into the back of the bar, into the seedy club. The music hit him like an invisible wall. Bruno was skilled at sneaking around and hiding, so he was able to get in without drawing attention to himself.

 

It was hard to think with that loud music blaring in his ears. Looking around, Bruno assessed his surroundings.

 

It was definitely some kind of strip club, maybe even worse than that. He saw a guy hand another guy money, and then lead a dancer into a back hall labelled “XXX”. Was this some kind of sex hotel?

 

“Can I help you, sir?” A charming man came up to Bruno, smiling. Bruno’s heart swooned a little, but he had to remind himself this was not the time for that. 

 

“I’m looking for a Crow Hogan,” Bruno said, deciding to be bold.

 

“He doesn’t work here anymore, I’m afraid,” the man told him. 

 

“Oh, s-sorry to bother you then…”

 

“He is visiting, however.”

 

Bruno’s ears perked.

 

“Could I speak to him, please?” Bruno tried to ask cutely.

 

“He’s entertaining an old friend of his right now. I don’t think he wants to be disturbed.”

 

Bruno had to think of something fast.

 

“I know. I’m here to join them.”

 

 _Please believe that,_ Bruno thought desperately.

 

“Oh, my apologies, sir. This way.”

 

Bruno could not believe his luck. Either this guy was gullible or he was just lucky. The man led him into the XXX hall. Bruno had a very bad feeling about this. He stopped at room 202 and knocked.

 

“Occupied!” an annoyed voice came from the other side.

 

“Sir, sorry for interrupting, but your other guest has arrived.”

 

“Other guest?”

 

The man unlocked the door with a key and opened it for Bruno. What Bruno saw made his jaw drop.

 

There was that ginger guy Jack had been making out with a few days ago, and Kiryu was in bed on top of him! They both looked at Bruno and Bruno saw that Kiryu’s eyes were fully dilated, as though his eyes were just pupils now.

 

“Hey, it’s Bruno~” Kiryu said in a singsong voice. 

 

“You know this guy?” Crow asked.

 

“You’re that ginger guy I saw kissing Jack a few nights ago!” Bruno huffed.

 

“You kissed Jack?” Kiryu giggled.

 

“Who the hell is this guy? Get out!” Crow yelled. 

 

“Kiryu, what’s going on? Everyone’s worried about you!” Bruno said, ignoring Crow. 

 

“Relax, Bruno,” Kiryu said nonchalantly. “This is Crow, my childhood friend.”

 

“It seems like you’re more than friends,” Bruno said coolly. _Poor Yusei… after he just told me he’s in love with Kiryu…_

 

“No, Crow’s just teaching me some things to make me better,” Kiryu laughed. Crow smiled smugly at Bruno.

 

“Right,” Crow said, waving Bruno away. “So, shoo. Go away, blueberry head.”

 

Bruno stood there, thinking hard for a moment. He could just walk away right now, tell Yusei what he saw, and that would be that. That would give him the advantage on Yusei. But… Something just wasn’t right about this. Kiryu wasn’t normal. He didn’t even seem delusional. He seemed… high. His pupils were completely dilated and he just seemed so lightheadedly happy, like he didn’t have any worries at all. That was very unlike him, and Bruno had only known him a short time. 

 

No… he had to do the right thing. Even if the wrong thing might end more happily for him. The right thing would hopefully end happily for Yusei. And that was who really mattered here. Kiryu, too.

 

“Kiryu, put on your pants and let’s go. Yusei’s worried about you.”

 

“He’s not going anywhere with you!” Crow snapped, getting out of bed to confront Bruno. 

 

“Yusei should join us,” Kiryu said dreamily, as if he had no idea what was going on.

 

“Yusei’s in the hospital!” Bruno shouted as his last attempt to get through to Kiryu before Crow swung at him. Bruno jumped out of the way, bouncing around the room to dodge the crazy ginger. 

 

“Yusei’s… in the hospital?”

 

Finally, Kiryu seemed to be worried. 

 

“He’s lying, obviously,” Crow spat, still trying to get a good swing at Bruno.

 

“I’m not!” Bruno insisted. “He has self-inflicted burns all over his arms.”

 

Kiryu sat there and processed this information as Bruno continued to avoid a beating. It finally seemed like Kiryu was coming to, just a little.

 

“Crow,” he said. “You… You put something in my drink… I feel so… light and airy… I need to… Yusei…”

 

“Now look what you did!” Crow snarled. Playtime was over. He grabbed Bruno and began punching him relentlessly. Bruno was helpless. Even if he could, he wouldn’t fight back. He hated violence. He crumpled and whimpered, accepting his fate.

 

*WHAM*

 

Suddenly the punches stopped. Bruno opened his eyes to see that Kiryu had clocked Crow right in the jaw and knocked him away. Bruno scrambled to his feet.

 

“Thank you,” Bruno said to Kiryu, whose eyes were still highly dilated. 

 

“I wish I didn’t have to do that,” Kiryu said, as though nothing had happened, “but Yusei needs me. He always comes first.”

 

Bruno’s heart panged. That was so sweet… It made his heart ache. Kiryu and Yusei were going to be so happy together… He was so jealous, but also happy for them.

 

“Take me to Yusei, please,” Kiryu said.

 

“Uh… Yes,” Bruno said. “Um… you need to put clothes on first.”

 

“Kiryu, you owe me!” Crow hissed from the floor, holding the side of his face.

 

“No, I don’t,” Kiryu dismissed him as he pulled on his pants.

 

“Yes, you do! Have you forgotten our old agreement?”

 

Bruno saw Kiryu turn rigid, trying to think back.

 

“Old is invalid,” Bruno said.

 

“You stay out of this, blueberry head!” Crow hissed. “Remember, Kiryu? I used to steal you things. In return, you said you’d owe me in the future. Time to pay up!”

 

Kiryu had a hard time processing this too. The drug was still impairing his ability to think.

 

“I owe you?” Kiryu said.

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

“No, you don’t!” Bruno shouted. “Kiryu, he’s guilt-tripping you. If you want to see Yusei, you have to come with me!”

 

“I want to see Yusei,” Kiryu said, walking over to Bruno.

 

“Okay, I really didn’t want to do this,” Crow said, standing up. He had pulled brass knuckles from nowhere and was getting into a battle mode. Kiryu stood protectively in front of Bruno. However, the drug was really impairing all his senses. He wouldn’t be able to take Crow this way. Bruno didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t call the police because there was no service where they were.

 

“Run!” Bruno screamed, grabbing Kiryu’s arm and bolting out the door. He didn’t care where he ran to as long as it was away from Crow. He tried to remember the way he came in. Unfortunately, the two guards who Antinomy had tried to hold off were waiting for him.

 

“Don’t let them get you!” Bruno told Kiryu. He used his survival skills to weave them out of danger. It was harder to avoid danger when you had to take another person into account. It was almost like a dance. Bruno threw Kiryu one way, ducked under arms, then grabbed him again and swung him around another way. Kiryu did whatever Bruno made him do. Finally, Bruno saw the exit. Only, it was being blocked by a guy.

 

“Kiryu, think you can take him?” Bruno asked. “That’s our only way out!” 

 

“Aye aye, Tech Genius,” Kiryu said, and he leapt forward to take on the guy in front of the exit.

 

“Hey, what’s the meaning of this?!” the barkeeper yelled, taking out a bat. This scared Bruno very badly. He couldn’t leave Kiryu, though. He had to get them out of this situation _now_.

 

Without thinking, Bruno picked up a chair and hit the man fighting Kiryu in the back. He crumpled, and Bruno dropped the chair in shock.

 

“Nice one!” Kiryu praised him. Bruno was shaking.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Bruno said, grabbing Kiryu’s wrist again and bolting out the door. He didn’t have time to look for Antinomy. He just had to get as far away from that place as possible.

* * *

 

 

Antinomy had been thrown out of the bar and told never to come back. He waited outside because the guards said they were going to find Bruno and throw him out too. When Bruno burst out of the front door with Kiryu right behind him, Antinomy could hardly believe it. He tried to get his brother’s attention but Bruno ran past him yelling, “Run, run, run!”

 

Antinomy didn’t need telling twice. He was right behind Bruno in an instant.

 

“Let’s get back to the hotel!” he yelled to his brother. “We’ll be safe there!”

 

“That’s thirteen blocks away!”

 

“We can make it!”

 

“Riding duel, acceleration!” Kiryu chimed in, as though this was all just a game. “Dark Glass, it’s your turn!”

 

“Who’s 'Dark Glass'?” both brothers asked.

 

“You are, stupid!” Kiryu snorted, pointing to Antinomy.

 

“I’m Antinomy!”

 

“No, your True Name is Dark Glass. Bruno’s is Tech Genius. You have to use those names when you duel!”

 

“Wait a minute, didn’t you _just_ get released from the hospital?” Antinomy asked. “Shouldn’t you _not_ be thinking things like that?”

 

“Crow drugged him,” Bruno informed his brother. “He’s high right now.”

 

“He put Ecstasy in my drink,” Kiryu giggled. “Now, it’s your turn, Dark Glass! Draw a card!”

 

“What? I don’t even…?!”

 

“Just go along with it!” Bruno hissed, now panting heavily from running. He was too afraid to stop and check if they were being followed.

 

“Fine! I draw a card!”

 

“Is it a monster, spell, or trap?”

 

“What? I… Monster.”

 

“How many stars?”

 

“What?”

 

“Stars are its level. How do you not know the rules to Duel Monsters?”

 

“Because you made this game up!” Antinomy snapped. “We don’t even have any cards!”

 

“Yusei plays with me,” Kiryu pouted.

 

“Then play with Yusei.”

 

“You’re mean,” Kiryu pouted again.

 

“I can’t run anymore,” Bruno huffed, stopping to catch his breath. They had only run about five or six blocks.

 

“I don’t think they’re following us,” Antinomy replied. “But just to be safe, let’s duck in this diner to refresh, okay?”

 

“Ooh! Then I can teach you how to play Duel Monsters while we eat!” Kiryu said excitedly. Antinomy was now able to see how dilated his pupils were.

 

“Oh boy,” Antinomy said with fake enthusiasm.

* * *

 

 

Jack was pacing furiously in the ER waiting room. He couldn’t leave because he was the only one who knew Placido was there, but at the same time he was incredibly anxious to be out doing _something_ that might lead him to Kiryu. Jack couldn’t figure out for the life of him why Placido hadn’t wanted Antinomy to know he was sick. Why was he even listening to Placido, anyway? He should just call Antinomy and be done with. But just as he reached for his phone, a doctor called for him.

 

“Jack Godwin?”

 

“I’m Jack,” Jack replied, walking up to him.

 

“Please follow me into my office.”

 

Jack followed him, dread starting to creep through him. Did Placido _die?!_ How could that happen?! That didn’t make sense at all! What the hell was he doing before he got sick and called Jack for help?!

 

Drugs, maybe?

 

“What’s your relationship with the patient Placido Yliaster?” the doctor asked as they sat down.

 

“He’s my… friend. Sort of.” Jack replied. “He didn’t die, did he?”

 

“No, no. He’s alive. A vein behind his right optical nerve burst and he has to have emergency surgery to stop the internal bleeding and prevent brain damage. He’s already suffered several seizures.”

 

Jack was completely stunned. 

 

“How… How does that even happen?” he asked, barely able to breathe.

 

“You say this man is your friend?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Have you ever had a sexual relationship with him?”

 

Jack’s cheeks turned a little rosy. Why was he asking that now?

 

“Yeah,” he admitted bluntly.

 

“Then you’ll want to get tested for HIV right away, because this is what happens when you don’t treat it.”

 

It took a moment for Jack to process this.

 

“HIV? Placido has HIV?!” Jack jumped up, too anxious to sit down. He felt dizzy and nauseous and the walls seemed to be closing in.

 

“It seems to be untreated, so we have surmised that he didn’t know he had it and never got a test.”

 

Jack had to sit back down. _He’d_ never bothered to get STD tested either. Thinking about it now, it was something he should have done at _least_ once a year, if not more. _I wonder if the o thers have gotten tested at all…_ He was going to force _everyone_ to get tested after this ordeal. 

 

“Can you test me right now?” he asked shakily.

 

“I can, but it will cost a lot of money.”

 

“Don’t worry about the money. Give me the most accurate but quickest test, please!”

 

“Alright, I’ll go get the kit.”

 

The doctor left. Jack tried to calm himself down. Placido hadn’t wanted Antinomy to know. That meant he knew he had something bad. Placido probably knew he had an STD! Why did that little fucker not get it treated?! He knew why he wouldn’t tell anyone, not that that made it right. 

 

 _Fuck, we could all have HIV now!_ Jack thought bitterly. If anyone had it it would surely be Antinomy. He had to tell Antinomy now. This wasn’t Placido’s decision anymore. He had endangered three other lives this way, maybe more. If it ended up that Jack had gotten it from him then Bruno might have it.

 

 _Wait… what if… what if_ I’m _the one that gave him HIV?_ Jack suddenly thought. Then a whole lot of other people were in danger, too. How could _he_ have been so careless?! It wasn’t just Placido. They had both been stupid.

* * *

 

 

“So you’re telling me there are _how_ many ways to summon a monster?” Antinomy asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

 

“There’s normal summoning, tribute summoning, special summoning, fusion summoning, ritual summoning, and synchro summoning,” Kiryu replied, wolfing down his giant basket of cheese fries. “There are other ways besides those but that’s in the future and or possibly a different timeline so we can’t use those methods.”

 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re crazy?”

 

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

 

“Ant, that’s not nice,” Bruno said, sipping his drink. 

 

“Sorry. Actually, it’s kind of amazing that you’ve made up this entire game in your head.”

 

“I didn’t make it up. It exists. Just…” Kiryu looked a little depressed. He seemed to be coming down from his high. “It exists in _my_ world, not yours.”

 

“You have a world?”

 

“Oh, yes!” Kiryu sparked up again. “This world is called “The Universe”. My world is called “Yugioh”. I’ve only been to Satellite, the island where I live, and Neo Domino, a prosperous city that exiles those from the ghetto Satellite. That’s where Yusei was born.”

 

“Yusei lives in your world?”

 

“Everyone lives in my world. When I’m completely in that world everyone goes by their True Name. When I’m here and the worlds are blurred, it’s usually your Universe name.”

 

“Your world sounds interesting,” Bruno said, biting his pizza.

 

“It is. But it’s also scary and dangerous. It seems like everyone is always out to get me or Yusei.”

 

“What am I like in your world?” Bruno asked curiously. 

 

“In my world, you and Antinomy are actually the same person,” Kiryu told him. “You are just Antinomy with his memories wiped. You’re an android from the apocalyptic future sent back in time to help Yusei save it. But Antinomy, you’re really on Zone’s side, who is trying to destroy the city in order to save the future. And Placido is one of the Machine Emperors, also on Zone’s side, who is hell-bent on killing Yusei and destroying the city.”

 

“Well, that explains why you don’t like Placido much,” Antinomy replied.

 

“He’s okay, except when the worlds get blurred. Like I said, everyone is out to get Yusei and I have to protect him. Because… he always saves me. He saves me and I protect him.”

 

“Do you love him?” Bruno suddenly asked, and everyone fell silent. 

 

“…..Yeah. I love him,” Kiryu admitted. Antinomy gave Bruno a questioning look.

 

“Then there’s something you have to know,” Bruno sighed, putting his half-eaten pizza down. Antinomy continued to eat, knowing what was about to happen. 

 

“About half a week ago, I was in the hotel room by myself with Jack while he was in the shower. Yusei came in and I was about to tell him that we found a place to rent because we were going to stay here for a while while you and Aki got better, when Yusei forced himself on me.”

 

Kiryu dropped his fork, his eyes widening and glossing over. “That’s a lie!” His voice broke, but it was obvious he knew it was true. Bruno was with Jack now. He wouldn’t lie about this.

 

“I wish I was lying,” Bruno sighed again. “And I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t push him off me. I guess I still have feelings for him, underneath everything. Wait, don’t look at me like that! Please let me finish my story!” Bruno had gone into panic mode because as soon as he mentioned that he still had feelings for Yusei, Kiryu’s expression turned from broken to murderous.

 

“Go on, then,” Kiryu breathed in a dangerously low voice. Bruno was starting to get nervous.

 

“A-Anyway, Jack came out of the bathroom and saw, and we both came to our senses and broke apart. It was weird, like we had both been put under a spell. Yusei more than me. I don’t think he was thinking clearly that day. And Jack just grabbed his clothes and left. Yusei looked terrified, and I was once again conflicted with my feelings for both him and Jack. So I tried to convince him to be with me.”

 

Kiryu scoffed and sat back in his seat. At this moment, he hated Bruno more than anyone he had hated before in his entire life. And to think he’d just started to get friendly with him! Bruno had rescued him from Crow and that damn club! And now he was telling him that he was trying to steal the man he loved?! Kiryu’s glare was so menacing that Bruno began to cower in his seat.

 

“But,” he went on, his voice a little shaky, “Yusei rejected me. He said he likes me, but he’s in love with _you_ , Kiryu. He always has been and always will be. He said those exact words. And he told me to go back to Jack, that this had all just been a stupid mistake.”

 

Kiryu was easing up now.

 

“Yusei said he loves me?”

 

“Yeah. He kind of ripped out my heart. He destroyed the relationship I was in just to reject me. I have such great luck, don’t I?” Bruno sat back in his chair, sniffing a little. He hadn’t thought he was going to cry but he felt tears rushing up to his eyes as he recounted this bitter memory.

 

It was then that Kiryu realized his mistake. He had been looking at Bruno all wrong this entire time. Bruno was just another person who had happened to fall in love. It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t purposely trying to keep Yusei from him. He just happened to feel a certain way towards Yusei, and because of that Kiryu had messed him up.

 

“I have to tell you something too,” Kiryu said, and Bruno looked up. “Jack only seduced you from Yusei so that you wouldn’t be with Yusei, because of my feelings for him. I mean, the whole point of this trip was so I could grow closer to him. Jack did that for me and then he ended up falling in love with you. So… I guess this is all my fault, really. I’m sorry. You should have been able to have as fair of a shot with Yusei as anyone else.”

 

This news was so shocking that Antinomy had forgotten he was chewing. Bruno looked stunnedinto silence, but then he sighed.

 

“It was your fault first, but this current ordeal is my fault. And a little bit of Yusei’s. I’m not going to pin blame on anyone. It was just a series of unfortunate events.”

 

“I’d really like to be your friend, Bruno.” 

 

Bruno was a little shocked to hear that from Kiryu, since Kiryu hadn’t liked him at all from day one. He smiled.

 

“Thanks. I’d like that, too.”

 

“Are you forgetting the giant mess you’re all tied up in now?” Antinomy asked. 

 

“I didn’t forget,” Bruno replied. “I decided that I’d help Yusei be happy, and that meant finding Kiryu. So we found Kiryu. They love each other, and that’s what matters.”

 

“What about you?” Kiryu asked.

 

“I guess I have some things to talk about with Jack,” Bruno sighed. “I’ll probably get bonus points for having rescued you, though.” He chuckled dryly. 

 

“Are you sure you’re okay with me and Yusei?” Kiryu asked.

 

“Yeah,” Bruno replied. “You two are in love. You deserve to be together.”

 

“You and Yusei will have a lot to talk about, too,” Antinomy told Kiryu. “He’s in the hospital because he burned his arms after messing with Bruno. I guess he feels bad about what he did.”

 

“Hospital?!” Kiryu looked alarmed and stood up fast. “We gotta go see him right now!”

 

“Alright, alright. I need to pay first,” Antinomy said, fiddling for his wallet.

 

“I’d pay but all my stuff is- was- with Yusei,” Kiryu said apologetically.

 

“No sweat, bro,” Antinomy said, making sure to leave a nice tip.

* * *

 

 

The doctor said the test would take a few hours for results. Jack was too anxious to leave the hospital but too anxious to stay in it, so he walked around it from the outside, trying to clear his head. It was a big hospital. He could have gone to visit Yusei or Aki but he was too worked up to talk to anyone. Also, he was pissed off at Yusei at the moment. 

 

After about the fifth time he completed the circuit around the building, he saw three people in the distance, two with dark blue hair, and one with frosty blue hair. Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him. He was seeing Kiryu because he wanted to see Kiryu, and the other people just happened to look like Bruno and his brother. Just to make sure, Jack kept walking towards them. The closer he got to the parking lot that they were crossing, the more and more they looked familiar.

 

“Kiryu?!” Jack yelled, and the frosty-haired man whipped his head around.

 

“Hey look, it’s Jack!” Kiryu said, pointing.

 

“Kiryu!” Jack was so happy he ran towards the group, throwing his arms around his cousin. 

 

“Kiryu, thank god! I was so worried about you! Are you okay? Did Crow do anything to you? Did he rob you, too?”

 

“He robbed you?” Kiryu said, though it was hard to say much because Jack was crushing him. “You know Crow?”

 

“There was an incident,” Jack said, letting Kiryu go. “Why are you with those two?” Jack motioned to the two brothers who were looking awkward while waiting.

 

“They rescued me,” Kiryu told him.

 

“You’re welcome, by the way,” Antinomy spat at Jack. Bruno was looking at his feet. 

 

“How’d you find him?”

 

“Placido apparently knew Crow from… his previous life, and knew the club he always goes to. Bruno’s the hero, though. He was able to get in and get Kiryu.”

 

Bruno’s cheeks turned red and he scuffed the ground with his foot. Jack glanced at him but then turned his attention back to Kiryu.

 

“So what are you doing here? You’re not hurt, are you?”

 

“No, I’m here to see Yusei,” Kiryu said, as though that should have been obvious. “What are _you_ doing here?”

 

“I… had to accompany Placido here.”

 

“ _What?!_ ” Antinomy swelled up with shock but also fury that no one had told him. “Why didn’t you tell me?! What happened?!”

 

“He told me not tell you. And now I am waiting for the results of an STD test, because apparently Placido has HIV and didn’t tell anyone. You should all get checked too, by the way. I’ll pay.”

 

Antinomy was so shocked he couldn’t even speak. His mouth was just open.

 

“You’re kidding,” he finally said. “It’s a joke.”

 

“I wouldn’t fucking kid about something like HIV. A vein burst behind Placido’s eye and they’re doing emergency surgery on him right now. He called me telling me he was sick and to come to his room. I thought he was trying to seduce me or something because he said not to tell you. But I heard him throw up and then pass out, so I thought he might be drunk and have alcohol poisoning. When I got there he was having seizures on his bathroom floor.”

 

“Oh my god,” Bruno said, finally looking up. Antinomy looked like he might faint.

 

“Yeah. So you should all get tested, even you, Kiryu, just in case. And I have no idea when Placido will be out of surgery.”

 

“I’ve had unprotected sex with him…!” Antinomy said faintly. 

 

“Anthony!” Bruno exclaimed. “You _always_ have condoms on you! Why would you do that?!”

 

“Well, I don’t need condoms when I sleep with guys!” Antinomy snapped back. “At least, I didn’t think I did…”

 

“Even _I_ know enough to use a condom each time. We used a condom every time, didn’t we, Jack?” Bruno looked at him, as if accusing him of something.

 

“Uh… yeah…” Jack said, startled at being addressed by him.

 

“Go get tested _right now_!” Bruno demanded. “We all will. Then we can visit Yusei, okay, Kiryu?”

 

“Y-Yeah,” Kiryu agreed. Bruno grabbed his brother’s arm and pulled him inside.

 

“Why are you mad at _me_?! I’m the one who probably has HIV out of all of us!” Antinomy snapped. 

 

“Because you’re careless and also I’m very, very scared and I’m coping with it by being angry!” Bruno snapped back. Jack and Kiryu were right behind them.

* * *

 

 

Yusei wanted so bad to burn. He knew he deserved it. But after his little spat with Jack the other day, there was always a nurse watching him. All Yusei did was sleep and eat and go to the bathroom. He wasn’t allowed to leave his room to visit Aki, and he certainly wasn’t allowed to leave to go search for Kiryu. He was so lonely that he even wished for Jack to come back. There was nothing to do all day but sleep, even though all his dreams were bad. So when Yusei opened his eyes and saw Kiryu sitting by his bed, holding his hand, he thought for sure he was still dreaming. 

 

“Kiryu…” he whispered, and Kiryu smiled. Then Yusei came to his senses and realized this wasn’t a dream.

 

“K-Kiryu…!”

 

He sat bolt upright.

 

“Good morning, star shine,” Kiryu said.

 

“Kiryu! How did you… When did you…?!”

 

“Bruno rescued me. Although some credit also goes to Placido and Antinomy, but it was mostly Bruno.”

 

“Bruno… did…?”

 

“Yeah. And then he brought me here to see you.”

 

Yusei stared at him. _Bruno_ had rescued him?! _Bruno?!_ He was very confused. He thought of anyone, Bruno would care least, since Kiryu was his competition.

 

“Where is he?” Yusei asked.

 

“Downstairs waiting with his brother and Jack for Placido to get out of surgery.”

 

“Placido’s having surgery?”

 

“Apparently a lot has happened today. And… we have a lot to talk about too.”

 

Yusei saw him look at his bandaged arms. Suddenly tears rushed into his eyes.

 

“I’m sorry,” he sniffed. “I’ve messed everything up. I ruined everything.”

 

“It’s okay,” Kiryu said, wiping a tear away with his thumb. “Yusei, you’ve been so strong for me up till now. You don’t have to be strong all the time. No one can carry the entire world on their shoulders. You’re no Atlas. And I’m not making a reference to Jack,” Kiryu quickly cut in, seeing the look on Yusei’s face, “though Jack _has_ been taking on a lot of responsibility since you got admitted here. You’re putting too much pressure on yourself. You’re allowed to break every now and then.”

 

Yusei fell back onto his pillow miserably. 

 

“But I really messed up this time,” he said. “I don’t know what came over me… I was upset, at something stupid. And I just got this impulse to do something crazy. And because I was upset with you, I wanted to make you mad, so I kissed Bruno. Now I’ve ruined his and Jack’s relationship, and mine and yours…”

 

“Yeah, now that’s something we have to talk about,” Kiryu said, folding his arms. “In fact, we have a _lot_ of things we need to talk about. But not while you’re in the hospital.”

 

Yusei nodded.

 

“Alright,” he agreed. “Just… please know that I’m sorry.”

 

“I know you are.” Kiryu leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Hurry up and get well, before I get worse, okay?”

 

Yusei smiled at him. As Kiryu was leaving he stopped in the doorway and said, “Oh, by the way, Yusei…”

 

“Hm?” Yusei said, perking up. Kiryu narrowed his eyes seriously.

 

“If you and Bruno ever kiss again someone _will_ get seriously hurt.”

 

 


End file.
